Abstract
Background
Life is filled with situations that remain completely beyond our control. Yet, some people seem better able to tolerate this uncontrollability than others. To date, little research has focused on understanding how people feel about the uncontrollability of life (i.e., tolerance of uncontrollability).
Methods
This article introduces and describes tolerance of uncontrollability while distinguishing it from other related constructs, including intolerance of uncertainty, perception and level of control, learned helplessness, and global beliefs, such as religion and spirituality, optimism and pessimism, mindfulness, and distress tolerance. To measure an individual’s tolerance of uncontrollability, we developed the Tolerance of Uncontrollability Questionnaire (TOUQ) and administered it, together with other measures on possibly related constructs, to 300 individuals (data were analyzed from 226 participants).
Results
After running exploratory factor analysis, the final version of the TOUQ consists of 19 items that load onto one factor, with excellent internal consistency (α = 0.97). Scores on the TOUQ were moderately related to intolerance of uncertainty and optimism, and weakly related to specific mindfulness factors.
Conclusions
The TOUQ measures a unique construct and shows evidence of reliability and validity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Amadi, K. U., Uwakwe, R., Odinka, P. C., Ndukuba, A. C., Muomah, C. R., & Ohaeri, J. U. (2016). Religion, coping and outcome in our-patients with depression or diabetes mellitus. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 133, 489–496. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12537
Andersson, G. (1996). The benefits of optimism: A meta-analytic review of the Life Orientation Test. Personality and Individual Differences, 21, 719–725. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(96)00118-3
Anestis, M. D., Selby, E. A., Fink, E. L., & Joiner, T. E. (2007). The multifaceted role of distress tolerance in dysregulated eating behaviors. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40, 718–726. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.20471
Baer, R. A., Carmody, J., & Hunsinger, M. (2012). Weekly change in mindfulness and perceived stress in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 68, 755–765. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.21865
Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13, 27–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191105283504
Benson, J. S., & Kennelly, K. J. (1976). Learned helplessness: The result of uncontrollable reinforcements or uncontrollable aversive stimuli? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 138–145. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.34.1.138
Bernstein, A., Marshall, E. C., & Zvolensky, M. J. (2011). Multi-method evaluation of distress tolerance measures and construct (s): Concurrent relations to mood and anxiety psychopathology and quality of life. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 2, 386–399. https://doi.org/10.5127/jep.006610
Bernstein, A., Zvolensky, M. J., Vujanovic, A. A., & Moos, R. (2009). Anxiety sensitivity, distress tolerance, and discomfort intolerance: A hierarchical model of affect sensitivity and Tolerance. Behavior Therapy, 40, 291–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2008.08.001
Birrell, J., Meares, K., Wilkinson, A., & Freeston, M. (2011). Toward a definition of intolerance of uncertainty: A review of factor analytical studies of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 1198–1208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.07.009
Boateng, G. O., Neilands, T. B., Frongillo, E. A., Melgar-Quiñonez, H. R., & Young, S. L. (2018). Best practiced for developing and validating scales for health, social, and behavioral research: A primer. Frontiers in Public Health, 6, 149. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00149
Brown, T. A. (2015). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research (2nd ed.). Guilford Publications.
Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., & Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18, 211–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/10478400701598298
Buhr, K., & Dugas, M. J. (2006). Investigating the construct validity of intolerance of uncertainty and its unique relationship with worry. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 20, 222–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2004.12.004
Carleton, R. N., Mulvogue, M. K., Thibodeau, M. A., McCabe, R. E., Antony, M. M., & Asmundson, G. J. (2012). Increasingly certain about uncertainty: Intolerance of uncertainty across anxiety and depression. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26, 468–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.01.011
Carleton, R. N., Norton, M. A., & Asmundson, G. J. G. (2007). Fearing the unknown: A short version of the intolerance of uncertainty scale. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21, 105–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.03.014
Cattell, R. B. (1966). The scree test for the number of factors. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1, 245–276. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr0102_10
Cherlin, A., & Bourque, L. (1974). Dimensionality and reliability of the rotter I-E scale. Sociometry, 37, 565–582. https://doi.org/10.2307/2786428
Chorpita, B. F., & Barlow, D. H. (1998). The development of anxiety: The role of control in the early environment. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.124.1.3
Chorpita, B. F., Brown, T. A., & Barlow, D. H. (1998). Perceived control as a mediator of family environment in etiological models of childhood anxiety. Behavior Therapy, 29, 457–476. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(98)80043-9
Costello, A. B., & Osborne, J. (2005). Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: Four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis. Practical Assessment & Evaluation, 10, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412995627.d8
Cumming, G. (2014). The new statistics: Why and how. Psychological Science, 25, 7–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613504966
Cunningham, A. J., Lockwood, G. A., & Cunningham, J. A. (1991). A relationship between perceived self-efficacy and quality of life in cancer patients. Patient Education and Counseling, 17, 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/0738-3991(91)90052-7
Drake, L., Duncan, E., Sutherland, F., Abernethy, C., & Henry, C. (2008). Time perspective and correlates of wellbeing. Time & Society, 17, 47–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X07086304
Dugas, M. J., Gosselin, P., & Ladouceur, R. (2001). Intolerance of uncertainty and worry: Investigating specificity in a nonclinical sample. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 25, 551–558. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005553414688
Franklin, B. (1907). The writings of Benjamin Franklin 10 volumes. The Macmillan Company.
Freeston, M. H., Rhéaume, J., Letarte, H., Dugas, M. J., & Ladouceur, R. (1994). Why do people worry? Personality and Individual Differences, 17, 791–802. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(94)90048-5
Gartner, J. (1996). Religious commitment, mental health, and pro-social behavior: A review of the empirical literature. In E. P. Shafranske (Ed.), Religion and the clinical practice of psychology (pp. 187–214). American Psychological Association.
Goodman, J. K., Cryder, C. E., & Cheema, A. (2013). Data collection in a flat world: The strengths and weaknesses of Mechanical Turk samples. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 26, 213–224. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.1753
Havranek, M. M., Bolliger, B., Roos, S., Pryce, C. R., Quednow, B. B., & Seifritz, E. (2016). Uncontrollable and unpredictable stress interacts with subclinical depression and anxiety scores in determining anxiety response. Stress, 19, 53–52. https://doi.org/10.3109/10253890.2015.1117449
Hayes, S. C., Bissett, R. T., Korn, Z., Zettle, R. D., Rosenfarb, I. S., Cooper, L. D., & Grundt, A. M. (1999). The impact of acceptance versus control rationales on pain tolerance. The Psychological Record, 49, 33–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395305
Hofmann, S. G. (2005). Perception of control over anxiety mediates the relation between catastrophic thinking and social anxiety in social phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 885–895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2004.07.002
Hofmann, S. G., Sawyer, A. T., Witt, A. A., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology., 78, 169–183. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018555
Klonowicz, T. (2001). Discontented people: Reactivity and locus of control as determinants of subjective well-being. European Journal of Personality, 15, 29–47. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.387
Kocovski, N. L., Segal, Z. V., Battista, S. R., & Didonna, F. (2009). Mindfulness and psychopathology: Problem formulation. In F. Didonna (Ed.), Clinical handbook of mindfulness (pp. 85–98). Springer.
Koenig, H. G., & Büssing, A. (2010). The Duke University Religion Index (DUREL): A five-item measure for use in epidemiological studies. Religions, 1, 78–85. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel1010078
Larson, D. B., Sherrill, K. A., Lyons, J. S., Craigie, F. C., Thielman, S. B., Greenwold, M. A., & Larson, S. S. (1992). Associations between dimensions of religious commitment and mental health reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry and Archives of General Psychiatry: 1978–1989. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 557–559. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.149.4.557
Leotti, L. A., Iyengar, S. S., & Ochsner, K. N. (2010). Born to choose: The origins and value of the need for control. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14, 457–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2010.08.001
Leyro, T. M., Zvolensky, M. J., & Bernstein, A. (2010). Distress tolerance and psychopathological symptoms and disorders: A review of the empirical literature among adults. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 576. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019712
Linehan, M. M. (1993). Diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. Skills training manual for treating borderline personality disorder. New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.
Maier, S. F., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1976). Learned helplessness: Theory and evidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 105, 3–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.105.1.3
Meyers, L. S., & Wong, D. T. (1988). Validation of a new test of locus of control: The Internal Control Index. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 48, 753–761. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164488483024
Nes, L. S., & Segerstrom, S. C. (2006). Dispositional optimism and coping: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 235–251. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr1003_3
Nock, M. K., & Mendes, W. B. (2008). Physiological arousal, distress tolerance, and social problem-solving deficits among adolescent self-injurers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 28–38. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.76.1.28
O’Connor, B. P. (2000). SPSS and SAS programs for determining the number of components using parallel analysis and Velicer’s MAP test. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 32(3), 396–402. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200807
Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping. Guilford Press.
Pu, J., Hou, H., & Ma, R. (2017). The mediating effects of self-esteem and trait anxiety mediate on the impact of locus of control on subjective well-being. Current Psychology, 36, 167–173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-015-9397-8
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/014662167700100306
Rasmussen, H. N., Scheier, M. F., & Greenhouse, J. B. (2009). Optimism and physical health: A meta-analytic review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37, 239–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9111-x
Rosser, B. A. (2019). Intolerance of uncertainty as a transdiagnostic mechanism of psychological difficulties: A systematic review of evidence pertaining to causality and temporal precedence. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 43, 438–463. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-018-9964-z
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 80, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0092976
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2006). Self-regulation and the problem of human autonomy: Does psychology need choice, self-determination, and will? Journal of Personality, 74, 1557–1585. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00420.x
Ryon, H. S., & Gleason, M. E. (2014). The role of locus of control in daily life. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 121–131. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167213507087
Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A re-evaluation of the life orientation test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063–1078. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1063
Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (2001). Optimism, pessimism, and psychological well-being. In E. C. Chang (Ed.), Optimism & pessimism: Implications for theory, research, and practice (pp. 189–216). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10385-009
Scheier, M. F., Weintraub, J. K., & Carver, C. S. (1986). Coping with stress: Divergent strategies of optimists and pessimists. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1257–1264. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1257
Seligman, M. E., & Maier, S. F. (1967). Failure to escape traumatic shock. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 74, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0024514
Seybold, K. S., & Hill, P. C. (2001). The role of religion and spirituality in mental and physical health. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 21–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00106
Simons, J. S., & Gaher, R. M. (2005). The distress tolerance scale: Development and validation of a self-report measure. Motivation and Emotion, 29, 83–102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-005-7955-3
Teodorescu, K., & Erev, I. (2014). Learned helplessness and learned prevalence: Exploring the causal relations among perceived controllability, reward prevalence, and exploration. Association for Psychological Science, 25, 1861–1869. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614543022
Yong, A. G., & Pearce, S. (2013). A beginner’s guide to factor analysis: Focusing on exploratory factor analysis. Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 9, 79–94. https://doi.org/10.20982/tqmp.09.2.p079
Zvolensky, M. J., Vujanovic, A. A., Bernstein, A., & Leyro, T. (2010). Distress tolerance: Theory, measurement, and relations to psychopathology. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19, 406–410. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721410388642
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Conceptualization [AH, ALB, SGH]; Data curation [ALB]; Formal Analysis [ALB]; Funding acquisition [SGH]; Investigation [AH, ALB, SGH]; Methodology [AH, ALB, SGH]; Project administration [AH, ALB]; Resources [SGH]; Software [n/a]; Supervision [SGH, AH]; Validation [AH, ALB, DMM, SGH]; Visualization [AH, ALB]; Writing—original draft [AH, ALB, DMM, SGH]; Writing—review & editing [AH, ALB, DMM, SGH].
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
Dr. Hofmann receives financial support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (as part of the Humboldt Prize), NIH/NCCIH (R01AT007257), NIH/NIMH (R01MH099021, U01MH108168), and the James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative in Understanding Human Cognition – Special Initiative. He receives compensation for his work as editor of Cognitive Therapy and Research from SpringerNature and the Association for Psychological Science, and as an advisor from the Palo Alto Health Sciences, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Jazz Pharmaceuticals and for his work as a Subject Matter Expert from John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and SilverCloud Health, Inc. He also receives royalties and payments for his editorial work from various publishers. Dr. Aleena Hay, Ms. Abigail L. Barthel, and Ms. Danielle M. Moskow do not have any interests or activities to report.
Ethical Approval
The data were collected in an ethical manner in accordance with Boston University’s Institutional Review Board and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Boston University’s Internal Review Board reviewed the presented study and the study was granted exemption.
Informed Consent
All participants completed the informed consent process before participating in the research study presented.
Research Involving Human and Animal Participants
No animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendices
Appendix
Tolerance of Uncontrollability Questionnaire (TOUQ)
The following statements are rated using the following scale: 1—Strongly disagree, 2- Disagree, 3- Slightly disagree, 4—Neither agree nor disagree, 5—Slightly agree, 6—Agree, 7 -Strongly agree.
Instructions Please rate your agreement with the following statements. There are no right or wrong answers.
- 1.
I am generally okay when I cannot control the outcome of things.
- 2.
I do not have complete control over how life turns out and that’s okay with me.
- 3.
I can’t always control what happens to me and that’s okay.
- 4.
I accept the uncontrollability of life.
- 5.
It’s sometimes important to let go of our attempts to control the uncontrollable.
- 6.
The fact that life is uncontrollable.
- 7.
Life is often difficult to control and I’m okay with that.
- 8.
It’s okay that sometimes things happen outside of my control.
- 9.
Things will happen the way they happen and that’s okay.
- 10.
I usually don't mind when I have to give up control.
- 11.
Not having control over things doesn't bother me too much.
- 12.
Many things in life are outside of my control, and that’s okay.
- 13.
I am generally okay with not having control over what will happen in the future.
- 14.
I can’t always control things in life and that’s okay
- 15.
I am tolerant of uncontrollability.
- 16.
Whatever happens, happens.
- 17.
Some things in life are uncontrollable, and I am okay with that.
- 18.
Nobody is in complete control over one’s life and that’s okay.
- 19.
I am not too bothered when things happen outside of my control.
Scoring: 1pt: strongly disagree; 2pts: disagree; 3pts: slightly disagree; 4pts: neither agree/disagree; 5pts: slightly agree; 6pts: agree; 7pts: strongly agree.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hay, A., Barthel, A.L., Moskow, D.M. et al. Defining and Measuring Tolerance of Uncontrollability. Cogn Ther Res 46, 259–272 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-021-10259-9
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-021-10259-9