A Transdiagnostic Group Intervention Focusing on Intolerance to Uncertainty
Gioia Bottesi, Sara Anastasia Contin, Anna Panzeri, Eleonora Carraro, Sara Bianconi, Marta Ghisi
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a vulnerability factor for several psychological disorders and may be an important target for transdiagnostic interventions (Shihata et al., 2016). The current pilot study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioural group intervention delivered to 7 university students. These students reported difficulties tolerating uncertainty aside from the presence of a psychological disorder and type of disorder. A single-case experimental design in 3 phases (baseline, 8-week intervention, 8-week follow-up) had as primary outcome an ad-hoc daily self-monitoring questionnaire. The secondary outcomes were scores on the self-report questionnaires Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Revised and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21, which were administered at baseline, end of intervention and follow-up. Overall, perceived uncertainty and associated distress decreased - especially between intervention and follow-up; conversely, confidence in the ability to manage uncertainty increased across the three phases. Scores on self-report questionnaires showed a progressive decrease in IU and general distress. Although only preliminarily, these findings support the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic group intervention focused on IU in university students. However, it would be highly recommendable to conduct randomized control trials to provide stronger and more generalizable evidence.
Keywords
Intolerance of uncertainty, Cognitive-behavioural therapy, Transdiagnostic intervention, Undergraduates, Single-case experimental design.
