Cognitive Aspects of Generalised Anxiety Disorder in Adolescents: Exploring Intolerance of Uncertainty, Cognitive Avoidance, and Positive Beliefs About Worry.

Abstract

Intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive avoidance, and positive beliefs about worry have been well researched in adults with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), but few studies have explored these aspects in adolescent clinical samples. To address this gap, we compared the three cognitive variables amongst 12-18 year-olds with diagnoses of GAD (n = 46), those with other anxiety disorders (n = 18), and a group with low self-reported anxiety (n = 38). Adolescents with GAD reported significantly higher intolerance of uncertainty and positive beliefs about worry relative to their peers with other anxiety diagnoses, whilst levels of cognitive avoidance did not differ significantly. Intolerance of uncertainty and cognitive avoidance, but not positive beliefs about worry, were significantly higher amongst young people with GAD compared to the non-anxious community group. This novel study provides preliminary evidence for the relevance and specificity of intolerance of uncertainty to the maintenance of GAD in adolescence.