Does Intolerance of Uncertainty Influence Social Anxiety Through Rumination? A Mediation Model in Emerging Adults.

Abstract

In order to support the psychological well-being of individuals in emerging adulthood, it is important to understand the cognitive mechanisms that may contribute to social anxiety. In particular, intolerance of uncertainty is considered an important factor associated with anxiety levels among emerging adults. Accordingly, this cross-sectional study investigated whether intolerance of uncertainty is associated with social anxiety through ruminative thoughts. The study group consisted of 405 individuals living in Türkiye and in emerging adulthood, 70.60% (n = 286) of whom were female and 29.40% (n = 119) of whom were male. The ages of the participants selected by convenience sampling method ranged between 18 and 25 years, with a mean age of 21.73 years (SD = 1.87). In this study, data were collected using a demographic information form and three different self-report scales. The findings revealed that intolerance of uncertainty was significantly associated with higher levels of social anxiety (β = 0.22, p < 0.001). Moreover, rumination emerged as a significant cognitive mediator in this relationship (β = 0.23, p < 0.001). The indirect effect was statistically significant, indicating that individuals who experience high intolerance of uncertainty may be more prone to social anxiety when they also engage in ruminative thinking. Together, intolerance of uncertainty and rumination explained 26% of the variance in social anxiety (R² = 0.26). These results emphasize the importance of targeting both intolerance of uncertainty and rumination in interventions aimed at reducing social anxiety among emerging adults.