Hope in the

Unknown
The relationship between intolerance of
uncertainty, hope, and anxiety

Isabel Victoria L. Coscolluela

 Anxiety

A negative mood state from the anticipation of a

future threat, characterized by symptoms of
physical tension

In this study: Trait Anxiety, State Anxiety

 Intolerance
of
Uncertainty

A cognitive process that affects an individual’s

perception, interpretation, and response to
uncertain situations (Dugas, Schwartz, & Francis, 2004)
 Conceptual Model of
Generalized Anxiety
Disorder

• Central role of intolerance of uncertainty

• Worry – cognitive process that involves
rumination over negative events or outcomes;
known to maintain increased levels of anxiety
(Dugas, Gosselin, & Ladouceur, 2001; Carlton, Norton, & Asmundson, 2012)
Components

Inhibitory Prospective
◎ “uncertainty paralysis” ◎ “desire for predictability”
◎ inability to effectively ◎ the need to know what
respond and therefore will happen next
act or think in the face of
uncertainty

(Birrell, Meares, Wilkinson, & Freeston, 2011)

 Hope
A cognitive process that focuses on goal
attainment, involving an individual’s
determination and planning of ways to reach
said goal. (Truit, Biesecker, Capone, Bailey, & Erby, 2012)

In this study: Trait Hope, State Hope

 Snyder’s Hope theory

“
“Hope is a positive motivational state that is based
on an interactively derived sense of successful (a)
agency (goal-directed energy), and (b) pathways
(planning to meet goals)” (Snyder, Irving, & Anderson, 1991, in Snyder, 2002)

Agency Pathways
the motivational component refers to the creation of a
route in which a goal may
be reached.
Conceptual Framework

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Model

+ Hope Theory = Moderation Model
Integration of Theories

GAD Model Hope Theory

◎ Cognitive nature ◎ Cognitive nature
◎ Future-oriented ◎ Future-oriented
◎ Intolerance of ◎ Hope & anxiety
uncertainty &
anxiety
 Intolerance Anxiety
of uncertainty

Hope
Hypotheses

◎1a: Higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty are

associated with higher levels of state anxiety.

◎1b: Higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty are

associated with higher levels of trait anxiety.

◎2a: An interaction between intolerance of uncertainty x

hope affects state anxiety

◎2b: An interaction between intolerance of uncertainty x

hope affects trait anxiety
Method
Research Design, Sample

◎Correlational, quantitative
research design

◎Final sample size: 236

undergraduate students
◎Mean age: 19.33 years
Method
◎Self-report measures
◉ intolerance of uncertainty
◉ state anxiety
◉ trait anxiety
◉ state hope
◉ trait hope
◉ worry, neuroticism (controls)
◎Classroom setting
◉ induction of state anxiety
 Results &
Discussion
 Main Analyses - Discussion

Significant interaction:
• Intolerance of uncertainty & trait hope affected state
anxiety
• tendency to be hopeful as opposed to current state
of being hopeful

• The conditional effects for this model were

inconclusive, suggesting that while intolerance of
uncertainty’s effect on state anxiety depends linearly
on trait hope, the specific ways in which it had an
effect were could not be identified.
Additional analyses
on the component
level
 Significant conditional interaction effects
for the outcome of TRAIT ANXIETY

• Agency component

• High trait agency group:

high intolerance of
uncertainty associated IU Trait Trait
Anxiety
with lower trait anxiety Agency

• Possible explanation:
based on hope theory
 Significant conditional interaction effects
for the outcome of STATE ANXIETY

• Inhibitory intolerance of
uncertainty component

• High hope group: high inhibitory

intolerance of uncertainty
associated with high state anxiety Inhibitory
Trait State
IU Hope Anxiety
• Possible explanation: based on
hope theory & definition of IU
 Additional Discussion

• Differences of effects between state anxiety and trait anxiety

• Differences in state hope and trait hope
• Conditional effects significant only for the high hope levels

Framework
• Does hope buffer the effect between intolerance of uncertainty & anxiety?
Limitations
◎Generalizability
◉ Sample size & demographics
◎Self-reports
◎Correlational
◎Variables: Intolerance of uncertainty, hope,
anxiety
Implications/Contributions
◎Research gap: role of hope between
negative traits/cognitive biases and a
negative emotion.
◎Insight into possible contributors to trait
& state anxiety
◎Potential targets for intervention:
◎trait hope: hope-focused strategies
◎Intolerance of uncertainty as not
necessarily impairing
Thank you!