Sensory sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty and sex differences predicting anxiety in emerging adults

As multiple vulnerability factors have been defined for anxiety disorders, it is important to investigate the interactions among these factors to understand why and how some individuals develop anxiety. Sensory Sensitivity (SS) and Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) are independent vulnerability factor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Heliyon Vol. 9; no. 3; p. e14071
Main Authors:	Panchyshyn, Veronica, Tekok-Kilic, Ayda, Frijters, Jan C., Tardif-Williams, Christine
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England Elsevier Ltd 01-03-2023 Elsevier
Subjects:	Anxiety Emerging adulthood Intolerance of Uncertainty Sensory Sensitivity Sex differences Sensory Sensitivity Sex differences Anxiety Intolerance of Uncertainty Emerging adulthood
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	As multiple vulnerability factors have been defined for anxiety disorders, it is important to investigate the interactions among these factors to understand why and how some individuals develop anxiety. Sensory Sensitivity (SS) and Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) are independent vulnerability factors of anxiety, but their unique relationship in predicting anxiety has rarely been studied in non-clinical populations. The objective of this investigation was to examine the combined effects of SS and IU on self-reported anxiety in a sample of university students. In addition, with the frequently reported sex bias in anxiety literature, we expected that the combined effects of vulnerability factors would be different for females and males. A convenience sample of 313 university students, ages 17–26 years was recruited. The participants completed the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS-12), the Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile (AASP), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Results of moderated mediation analyses demonstrated a strong partial mediation between SS and anxiety through IU, providing evidence that IU, a cognitive bias against the unknown, was one mechanism that explained how SS was related to anxiety. Further, the effect of IU on anxiety was approximately twice as strong in females. Our results highlight the importance of studying the unique relationships among multiple vulnerability factors to better understand anxiety susceptibility in emerging adults. •High sensory sensitivity (SS) predicts anxiety in an emerging adult sample.•High levels of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) mediate the SS to anxiety pathway.•The SS, IU and anxiety relationship differs between males and females.•IU more strongly explains the SS to anxiety relationship in females.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2405-8440 2405-8440
DOI:	10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14071