Personality and worry: The role of intolerance of uncertainty

We examined the relationship between personality and worry, and tested a mediation model in which intolerance of uncertainty (IU) mediated this relationship. Participants comprised 1,135 Chinese college undergraduates who completed the Chinese versions of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, and the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Short Scale for Chinese. Results showed that neuroticism, extraversion, and IU were significantly correlated with worry. The paths between personality (neuroticism and extraversion) and worry, and the paths mediated by IU, were significant. Participants’ IU mediated the relationship between personality factors of neuroticism and extraversion, and worry. The results indicated that IU can be considered as a partial mediator of the relationship between personality and worry.