“I’m Uncertain: What Should I Do?”: an Investigation of Behavioral Responses to Everyday Life Uncertain Situations

Abstract

People might employ unhelpful coping strategies to manage uncertainty, such as over-engagement, under-engagement, and impulsive behaviors. The current study explored the association between prospective and inhibitory intolerance of uncertainty (IU), negative urgency (NU), worry, and behavioral responses to everyday life uncertain situations. A sample comprising 130 undergraduates completed self-report measures assessing the above-mentioned constructs and general distress; among them, 69 underwent an in vivo uncertainty induction and then evaluated different strategies they might use to manage the personally relevant uncertain situation they described. In the total sample, IU dimensions, worry, and NU were positively correlated with general distress, whereas NU was not correlated with any of the IU dimensions or with worry. In participants who underwent the uncertainty induction, inhibitory IU positively predicted the use of under-engagement strategies and negatively predicted the use of over-engagement ones. Furthermore, prospective IU and worry positively predicted over-engagement behaviors. Only NU positively predicted the use of impulsive behaviors,. Current findings support the differential role played by the IU dimensions in promoting the use of dysfunctional behaviors under uncertain circumstances. Furthermore, the lack of association between IU and impulsivity claims for further research considering cross-cultural issues.