The following is a summary of “Evaluating competing models of distress tolerance via structural equation modeling” published in the June 2023 issue of Psychiatric Research by Wesner, et al.
Distress Tolerance (DT) is a transdiagnostic risk and maintenance factor implicated in various internalizing spectrum (INT) disorders. Commonly, DT is conceptualized as a higher-order construct, whereas its lower-order dimensions continue to be contested. While the tolerance of negative emotions, frustration, and physical distress are widely regarded as defining characteristics of DT, the inclusion of uncertainty intolerance (IU) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) is contested. This is the first study to compare the two leading hierarchical models of DT explicitly.
In addition, the researchers propose and evaluate a DT model with IU and AS as lower-order dimensions. This “combined” model utilized prior hierarchical theories and subsequent research, demonstrating a strong correlation between IU and AS. To evaluate competing models of DT, latent models representing each dominant model and their novel “combined” model were constructed using structured equation modeling. Participants of a clinical sample (N = 278) who had completed self-report scales assessing DT’s theorized lower-order dimensions were analyzed.
The “combined” model demonstrated the greatest fit indices in the context of INT among the proposed models. Even after its shared variance with the Distress Intolerance Index (DII) was omitted, their “combined” model indicated that it still had a moderate association with INT ( β= 0.805, P<.01). This suggests that the only existing measure of the higher-order DT construct, the DII, does not adequately capture the latent structure’s substantial variance. The future orientation is discussed.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022395623001590