Psychometric Evaluation of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children (IUSC): Findings From Clinical and Community Samples in Iran.

Abstract

The present study examined the psychometric properties of a Persian version of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children (IUSC; Comer et al, 2009). Participating youth (n = 346) 8 to 18 years of age were nonreferred community youth (n = 279) or youth who met diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder (n = 67) and their parents. Across child- and parent-report data, confirmatory factor analysis supported a shortened 12-item version of the IUSC, and the confirmatory factor analysis also confirmed a theory-driven correlated two-factor structure of the IUSC-12. (i.e., prospective/inhibitory IU). Results further supported reliability and validity of parent- and child-reports of the Persian IUSC-12 via evidence of internal consistency, 4-week retest, significant associations with established measures of internalizing problems, and the ability of the measure to reliably distinguish the clinical sample from the community sample. Findings demonstrate sound psychometric properties of the Persian version of the IUSC-12 and provide additional support for the reliability and validity of the measure and its use in non-Western cultures. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for assessment, treatment, and study of anxiety and related internalizing problems in Iranian youth.