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Adult attachment, worry and reassurance seeking: Investigating the role of intolerance of uncertainty

Clark, Gavin I.; Rock, Adam J.; Clark, Laura H.; Murray‐Lyon, Kerrin

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Authors

Gavin I. Clark

Adam J. Rock

Laura H. Clark

Kerrin Murray‐Lyon



Abstract

Background: The adult attachment dimension of attachment anxiety has been demonstrated to be associated with a variety of anxiety symptomology, including worry, intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and reassurance seeking. A variety of research has indicated that IU is associated with level of worry and reassurance seeking. The relationships between attachment anxiety, worry, IU and threat‐related reassurance seeking have not been subject to investigation. The present article reports the results of an investigation of these variables within a community sample. Methods: Three‐hundred and twenty‐eight participants were recruited to complete an online survey in which participants completed the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale‐Revised, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and the Threat‐related Reassurance Seeking Scale. Results: Attachment anxiety, IU and worry were correlated with threat‐related reassurance seeking. Consistent with previous research, IU was found to mediate the relationship between attachment anxiety and worry. IU and worry were found to be serial‐multiple mediators in the relationship between attachment anxiety and threat‐related reassurance seeking. Conclusions: The results of the study suggest IU is likely to play a key role in the relationship between attachment anxiety and worry, as well as the relationship between attachment anxiety and threat‐related reassurance seeking.

Citation

Clark, G. I., Rock, A. J., Clark, L. H., & Murray‐Lyon, K. (2020). Adult attachment, worry and reassurance seeking: Investigating the role of intolerance of uncertainty. Clinical Psychologist, 24(3), 294-305. https://doi.org/10.1111/cp.12218

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 20, 2020
Online Publication Date Jun 26, 2020
Publication Date 2020-11
Deposit Date Jul 2, 2020
Publicly Available Date Jul 7, 2020
Journal Clinical Psychologist
Print ISSN 1328-4207
Electronic ISSN 1742-9552
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 24
Issue 3
Pages 294-305
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/cp.12218

Files

Published Journal Article (Advance online version) (1.2 Mb)
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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement
Advance online version © 2020 The Authors. Clinical Psychologist published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Psychology Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.





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