Expecting the uncertain: The applicability of the intolerance of uncertainty model on fear of childbirth

Figures & data

Figure 1. Proposed links between IU and FOC, with negative problem orientation, positive beliefs about worry and avoidance of inner experiences as potential mediators.

Table 1. Correlations between fear of childbirth and the processes within the IU-model.

	M	SD	1	2	3	4	5
1. Fear of childbirth (FOBS)	32.00	26.51	–	0.35*	0.22*	0.32*	0.28*
2. Intolerance of uncertainty (IUS-12)	29.17	8.63		–	0.67*	0.55*	0.53*
3. Negative problem orientation (NPOQ)	21.63	8.63			–	0.51*	0.54*
4. Positive beliefs about worry (WW-II)	46.60	16.03				–	0.47*
5. Avoidance of inner experiences (BEAQ)	38.38	12.28					–

FOBS, 0-100; IUS-12, 12-60; NPOQ, 12-60; WW-II, 25-125; BEAQ, 15-90; *p < .001.

Table 2. Multiple regression with the processes in the IU-model on FOC.

	B	SE	β	R^2
Negative problem orientation (NPOQ)	0.15	2.33	0.00	–
Positive beliefs about worry (WW-II)	9.27**	2.44	0.22**	–
Avoidance of inner experiences (BEAQ)	5.53*	2.00	0.17*	–
				0.12

NPOQ, 12–60; WW-II, 25–125; BEAQ, 15–90; *p < .01, **p < .001.

Figure 2. Standardized regression Coefficients (β) for the multiple mediation model. *p < .05; ***p < .001.

Table 3. Multiple mediation model of intolerance of uncertainty on fear of childbirth by positive beliefs about worry and avoidance of inner experiences.

Model	R^2	b	SE	β	p	CI (95%)
Model without mediator
IU → FOC(c)		1.05	0.15	0.34	<.001	0.75, 1.35
	0.12
Model with mediators
IU → Positive beliefs about worry (a1)		1.01	0.08	0.55	<.001	0.85, 1.18
IU → Avoidance of inner experiences (a2)		0.75	0.06	0.53	<.001	0.63, 0.88
Positive beliefs about worry → FOC (b1)		0.22	0.10	.014	<.05	0.03, 0.42
Avoidance of inner experiences → FOC (b2)		0.15	0.13	0.07	.24	−0.10 0.41
IU → FOC (c’)		0.71	0.20	.23	<.001	0.32, 1.09
	0.14
Indirect effects
Indirect effect of positive beliefs about worry (a1×b1)		0.23	0.11	0.07		0.01, 0.45
Indirect effect of avoidance of inner experiences (a2×b2)		0.11	0.10	0.04		−0.08, 0.33
Total indirect effect (a1×b1+a2×b2)		0.34	0.13	0.11		0.09, 0.61

95% CIs for the indirect effects obtained by bias-corrected bootstraps with 5000 resamples.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Ida Flink, upon reasonable request.