Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Youth Intolerance of Uncertainty - Parent-Report (YIU-PR)

The Youth Intolerance of Uncertainty – Parent-Report (YIU-PR) was created to assess intolerance of uncertainty (IU) in children and adolescents in a developmentally sensitive manner (Wong & Caporino, 2023). Preliminary validation of the YIU-PR evidenced support for a 4-factor structure and clinical utility for use with youth with and without elevated anxiety and OCD symptoms. The present study used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate the factor structure of the YIU-PR in a sample of caregivers with children ages 6 to 17 years old (N = 647). Findings supported a revised 22-item YIU-PR, with evidence of good fit for both first-order and second-order factor models (total score and scores for four subscales: Difficulty Tolerating Waiting Periods, Doubting and Reassurance Seeking, Overestimation of Negative Events, and Physical and Behavioral Responses). In both models, configural and metric invariance by age were fully supported, in addition to partial scalar invariance. The second-order factor model reflects the theoretical basis for the development of the YIU-PR. In support of convergent and divergent validity, the YIU-PR was more strongly correlated with other measures of youth IU than with symptoms of anxiety, depression, and anger. The YIU-PR subscales were differentially associated with parent-reported youth anxiety and OCD symptoms in the full sample and in the subsample with elevated symptoms. Lastly, the association of youth IU to symptoms of anxiety and OCD significantly differed by youth IU measures. Overall, assessment of youth IU subcomponents using the YIU-PR may allow for greater personalization of psychological intervention.