Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale

What is Intolerance of Uncertainty?

Intolerance of Uncertainty refers to a person’s lack of inclination or fear of embracing the inherent uncertainty of life. It is an inclination to reject concrete plans, situations, and events. People who are intolerant of uncertainty need predictability in all aspects of life. They are often distressed and anxious when subject to uncertain situations and information, craving reassurance.

While many individuals navigate through life by embracing uncertainty and adapting to it, a significant portion find themselves unable to tolerate the unknown. Worry becomes their constant companion, and this aversion to uncertainty takes a toll on their mental well-being, decision-making abilities, and crucial life skills such as adaptability. The impact can be even more severe for those with anxiety disorders, extending to their daily activities.

If you are a mental healthcare professional handling a patient with an anxiety disorder, or if they seem to have an intolerance for uncertainty based on your sessions with them, you can use the to gauge their level of intolerance.

How to use the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale:

The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale is an invaluable tool issued to patients with an intolerance for uncertainty or anxiety. It can help gauge the symptoms related to their intolerance.

It can be used in two ways. It’s up to you to decide how you want to go about it:

1. You can use the scale and instruct your patients to answer when you read out each item. The answers are preset for the scale, so they just need to select from the options. This will be like an interview-style format. This will make accomplishing the scale takes longer, but the upside to this is that you can have them expound on their answers. You might gain valuable information that can help you assess and treat your patient better down the line.

2. You can hand your patient the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale and have them answer it on their own time. If they’re taking the sheet home, agree on when you should receive a fully-accomplished copy.

Either way, your patient will do the same thing. Here are some of the items that they have to answer:

• Uncertainty stops me from having a firm opinion.
• My mind can't be relaxed if I don't know what will happen tomorrow.
• Uncertainty makes me uneasy, anxious, or stressed.
• One should always look ahead so as to avoid surprises.
• When I am uncertain I can't function very well.
• The smallest doubt can stop me from acting.
• The ambiguities in life stress me.

To answer these, they simply need to pick from the following answers:

• Not at all characteristic (1 point)
• A little characteristic (2 points)
• Somewhat characteristic (3 points)
• Very characteristic (4 points)
• Entirely characteristic (5 points)

There are twenty-seven items in total. Now, the scoring for this scale is based on two factors:

• Factor 1: Uncertainty has negative behavioral and self-referent implications
• Factor 2: Uncertainty is unfair and spoils everything

Factor 1 covers the following items: 1, 2, 3, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 22, 23, 24, and 25.

Factor 2 covers the following items: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 18, 19, 21, 26, and 27.

There are no score ranges for this scale, but the higher the score for each factor, the higher the severity level of intolerance of uncertainty as well (for each factor).

Generally, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is used to treat problematic levels of intolerance of uncertainty. However, this will still depend on the patient’s score and the severity of their symptoms. 

Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale Example

Now that you know the basic gist of what Intolerance of Uncertainty is all about, as well as what the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale is, how it’s answered, and how it’s scored, it’s time for you to see what the scale looks like. Our template was adapted from the original English version by Buhr, K., and Dugas, M. J. (2002). What we added are checkboxes for patients to tick. This can be printed, or you can just use the PDF! It has interactable parts so that the scale can be answered on a computer or similar capable device.

If you like what you see and believe this is a good tool to help you gauge patients who have an intolerance for uncertainty or those who are anxious/have an anxiety disorder, then by all means, download our free Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale PDF template! We hope it covers more ground with your work and assists you with making decisions on how to treat your patients.

Download this Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale Example:

When is it best to use the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale?

Before administering the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, ensuring that your patient feels secure and free from judgment is crucial. Building a foundation of trust and rapport is essential. Once this is established, individuals are more inclined to open up about their mental health struggles. This task can be challenging for many, particularly when conversing with unfamiliar faces or those lacking sufficient trust.

Once you have established a sense of safety and trust with your patient, uncovering and addressing their specific mental health challenges becomes easier. Understanding their issues allows you to tailor your approach accordingly.

During your sessions, if you observe symptoms of anxiety or if the patient has already been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, it is an opportune moment to administer the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale. Anxiety often stems from worry, whether it is rational or not, and uncertainty can significantly contribute to this. By utilizing the scale, you can assess the impact of uncertainty on their well-being and gain valuable insights into their condition.

What are the benefits of using the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale?

It allows professionals to evaluate their patients' intolerance for uncertainty.

The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale assesses patients' intolerance level for uncertainty, providing professionals with valuable insights. Although quantifying such an abstract concept may seem peculiar, assigning a numerical score enables professionals to gauge the severity for each patient. A higher score indicates a greater degree of severity, offering professionals a foundation to guide their work.

It can help professionals determine what to do for their patients.

The responses to each item can serve as discussion points, allowing the professional to delve deeper into the reasons behind the answers. This approach helps identify specific aspects of the patient's life that contribute to their intolerance for uncertainty, giving rise to mental health issues. By personalizing treatment plans that focus on reshaping the patient's cognition and behavioral patterns related to uncertainty, professionals aim to enhance their overall mental well-being.

It can be used to track changes in a patient’s view of uncertainty over time.

By utilizing this scale, you can effectively monitor shifts in their perspectives. Even slight changes in their responses and numerical values can indicate a growing acceptance of uncertainty, suggesting improved adaptability in uncertain scenarios. Conversely, if this is not the case, it becomes evident that there is room for improvement. In such instances, exploring alternative approaches to reshape their perception of uncertainty becomes crucial.

How can Carepatron help you with mental health-related work?

If you’re reading this guide, you’re likely to be a mental health professional who normally deals with patients who are anxious or have an anxiety disorder. If that’s the case, we hope this guide was an excellent introduction to the Intolerance of Uncertainty. Or, if you already know about it, we hope it served as a good refresher and the template tied to this guide helps you with your work.

Now, while we have you here, we’d like to ask you to take the time to explore more of the Carepatron platform if you haven’t. We believe that our features can benefit your work. One feature worth checking out (one that we’re quite proud of, mind you), is our massive resource library.

This library houses a collection of resources that covers numerous healthcare fields and topics, especially mental health! We have worksheets that you can use to help you get to know your patients better and see how they apply things you’ve taught them during your sessions. We also have assessments (just like the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale) that can help you gauge symptoms of different mental health problems. All the resources we have can be accessed and downloaded for free! So download as much as you want and need!

If you ever decide to subscribe to our platform, a feature you can take advantage of is our storage system, which will allow you to store clinical files with us in a HIPAA-compliant manner. This entails that even if you’re storing them with us, no one, not even us, can access your files. We take HIPAA mandates seriously, so only you can choose who gets to access your files besides you. You can even store filled-out copies of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale with us!

Storing your files is the same as creating backups. If something bad happens that results in you losing your physical copies, losing access to different cloud storage, or your work device malfunctioning, then you can rest easy knowing that you can redownload your files from your storage under us.

Not only will Carepatron provide you with resources to help you cover more ground with your therapeutic work, but we can also help preserve your work by securing them!