1- Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran.
2- Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran. , clinicalpsy8@gmail.com
Abstract: (3552 Views)
Objective: Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD) has two subtypes, care-seeking type, and care-avoidant. There is little information about the differences between the two subtypes.
Methods: This study was carried out to compare perfectionism and tolerance of ambiguity in the subtypes of the IAD. To this end, a causal-comparative design was employed. The statistical population of the study included clients with symptoms of IAD who were referred to psychiatric and psychological clinics in Urmia city (West Azerbaijan Province, Iran) in 2019. After conducting a semi-structured interview, 60 subjects were selected as samples, using a convenience sampling method. The Perfectionism Inventory and the Tolerance of Ambiguity questionnaire were utilized for data collection. The collected data were analyzed by the multivariate analysis of variance test.
Results: The care-avoiding subtype showed significantly higher scores on some subscales of perfectionism, including concern over mistakes (F=8.735; P=0.005), need for approval (F=4.988; P=0.029), and organization (F=4.505; P=0.038). On the contrary, the care-seeking type showed a significantly lower tolerance of ambiguity than the care-avoidant type (t=2.689; P=0.001).
Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest some subtle differences between the subtypes of IAD. As a result, paying attention to these differences can lead to developing tailored treatments for each of the IAD subtypes.
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● Care-seeking and care-avoidant subjects are not perfectionists equally.
● Accordingly, care-avoiding subjects are more perfectionist in concern over mistakes, need for approval, and organization.
● Care-seeking and care-avoidant subjects do not tolerate ambiguity equally.
● Accordingly, care-avoidant subjects have a higher tolerance of ambiguity than care-avoidant subjects.
Plain Language Summary
Many people suffer from Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD). They have excessive fears of having or acquiring severe disease (s). They fall into one of the two subtypes of the disorder: care-seeking or care-avoidant. These subtypes may differ in some essential psychological variables. Identifying such variables can help researchers determine the cause of some behaviors, such as care-seeking or care-avoiding. Hence, in this study, two essential psychological variables, i.e., perfectionism and tolerance of ambiguity, were compared between the two subtypes of the disorder. As expected, the two sub-types had significant differences in terms of perfectionism and tolerance of ambiguity.
Type of Study:
Research |
Subject:
Psychometric Received: 2021/04/24 | Accepted: 2021/09/19 | Published: 2021/10/1