The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS) is widely used to assess the implications of being uncertain, attempts to control the future, and emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions to ambiguous situations. Several language versions of the paper-and-pencil test have shown satisfactory psychometric properties. This study is intended to explore whether the IUS is suited to being administered on the Internet. We examined the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the online version of the Chinese IUS in a sample of college students (N = 905). The results showed a four-factor structure model, excellent internal consistency reliability (α = 0.91), re-tested reliability (r = 0.82), and convergent and divergent validity. We can conclude that the online version of the Chinese IUS is appropriate for measurement and its psychometric properties are similar to the paper-and-pencil version.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
FreestonMH, RheaumeJ, LetarteH, et al.Why do people worry?. Personality and Individual Differences, 1994; 17:791–802.
2.
BuhrK, DugasMJ. The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale: psychometric properties of the English version. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2002; 40:931–946.
3.
DugasMJ, SchwartzA, FrancisK. Intolerance of uncertainty, worry, and depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 2004; 28:835–842.
4.
BoelenPA, VrinssenI, van TulderF. Intolerance of uncertainty in adolescents: correlations with worry, social anxiety, and depression. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2010; 198:194–200.
5.
TolinDF, AbramowitzJS, BrigidiBD, et al.Intolerance of uncertainty in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2003; 17:233–242.
6.
SternheimL, StartupH, SchmidtU. An experimental exploration of behavioral and cognitive-emotional aspects of intolerance of uncertainty in eating disorder patients. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2011; 25:806–812.
7.
DugasMJ, FreestonMH, LadouceurR. Intolerance of uncertainty and problem orientation in worry. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1997; 21:593–606.
8.
DugasMJ, MarchandA, LadouceurR. Further validation of a cognitive-behavioral model of generalized anxiety disorder: diagnostic and symptom specificity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2005; 19:329–343.
9.
LadouceurR, DugasMJ, FreestonMH, et al.Specificity of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms and processes. Behavior Therapy, 1999; 30:197–207.
10.
DugasMJ, LadouceurR. Treatment of GAD: targeting intolerance of uncertainty in two types of worry. Behavior Modification, 2000; 24:635–657.
11.
YangZ. Psychometric properties of the intolerance of uncertainty scale (IUS) in a Chinese-speaking population. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 2013; 41:500–504.
12.
CarletonRN, NortonMA, AsmundsonGJ. Fearing the unknown: a short version of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2007; 21:105–117.
13.
ComerJS, RoyAK, FurrJM, et al.The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for children: a psychometric evaluation. Psychological Assessment, 2009; 21:402–411.
14.
CNNIC. 32nd statistical report on China internet network development. China Internet, 2013; 10:74–91.
15.
ZlomkeKR. Psychometric properties of internet administered versions of Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS). Computers in Human Behavior, 2009; 25:841–843.
16.
MangunkusumoRT, MoormanPW, Van Den Berg-de RuiterAE, et al.Internet-administered adolescent health questionnaires compared with a paper-and-pencil version in a randomized study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2005; 36:70.e1-6.
17.
VallejoMA, JordánCM, DíazMI, et al.Psychological assessment via the internet: a reliability and validity study of online (vs paper-and-pencil) versions of the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and the Symptoms Check-List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2007; 9:e2.
18.
RaatH, MangunkusumoRT, LandgrafJM, et al.Feasibility, reliability, and validity of adolescent health status measurement by the Child Health Questionnaire Child Form (CHQ-CF): internet administration compared with the standard paper-and-pencil version. Quality of Life Research, 2007; 16:675–685.
19.
HedmanE, LjótssonB, RückC, et al.Internet administration of self-report measures commonly used in research on social anxiety disorder: a psychometric evaluation. Computers in Human Behavior, 2010; 26:736–740.
20.
CarlbringP, BruntS, BohmanS, et al.Internet vs. paper and pencil administration of questionnaires commonly used in panic/agoraphobia research. Computers in Human Behavior, 2007; 23:1421–1434.
21.
HerreroJ, MenesesJ. Short web-based versions of the perceived stress (PSS) and Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CESD) scales: a comparison to pencil and paper responses among internet users. Computers in Human Behavior, 2006; 22:830–846.
22.
MeyerT, MillerM, MetzgerR, et al.Development and validation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 1990; 28:487–495.
23.
ShaL, WangC, LiuJ, et al.The Penn State Worry Questionnaire—preliminary revised in Chinese college students. Chinese Journal of Clinical Rehabilitation, 2006; 10:24–27.
24.
LearyRM. Social anxiousness: the construct and its measurement. Journal of Personality Assessment, 1983; 47:66–75.
25.
PengC, GongY, ZhuX. Reliability and validity of Interaction Anxiousness Scale and its applicability in Chinese college students. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 2004; 18:39–41.
26.
LearyMR, KowalskiRM. The Interaction Anxiousness Scale: construct and criterion-related validity. Journal of Personality Assessment, 1993; 61:136–146.
27.
QianM, WuG, ZhuR, et al.Development of the revised Eysenck Personalit y Questionnaire Short Scale for Chinese (EPQ-RSC). Acta Psychologica Sinica, 2000; 32:317–323.
28.
WangYu-zhong, Song-heSHI. Preparation for “life satisfaction scale applicable to college students (CSLSS)”. Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medical Science, 2003; 12:199–201.
29.
ZungWWK. A Self-Rating Depression Scale. Archives of General Psychiatry, 1965; 12:63–70.
30.
WangX. Mental health assessment scale manual. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 1993; 160–162.
31.
KnightRG, Waal-ManningJ, SpearsGF. Some norms and reliability data for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1983; 22:245–249.
32.
FoaEB, HuppertJD, LeibergS, et al.The obsessive-compulsive inventory: development and validation of a short version. Psychological Assessment, 2002; 14:485–496.
33.
TangS, WangJ, TangT, et al.Reliability and validity of obsessive-compulsive inventory-revised in Chinese college students. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2011; 19:619–621.
34.
DavisRN. Web-based administration of a personality questionnaire: comparison with traditional methods. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 1999; 31:572–577.
35.
BarakA, CohenL. Empirical examination of an online version of the self-directed search. Journal of Career Assessment, 2002; 10:387–400.
36.
BuchananT. Internet based questionnaire assessment: appropriate use in clinical contexts. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 2003; 32:100–109.
37.
BuchananT, JohnsonJA, GoldbergLR. Implementing a five-factor personality inventory for use on the Internet. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 2005; 21:115–127.
