Evaluation of the effects of attachment styles and intolerance of uncertainty on generalized anxiety disorder

This study aimed to examine the relationship between attachment styles and intolerance of uncertainty with generalized anxiety disorder. The research population consisted of individuals with at least a university level education in Turkey, while the sample consisted of 372 participants who agreed to participate. The "Demographic Information Data Form" was used to obtain demographic information, the "Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory-II" to determine attachment styles, the "Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IAS-12)" to determine intolerance of uncertainty, and the "Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)" to determine clinical-level anxiety. The mean age of the participants was 28.53 years, and 64.2% were female, 35.5% were male, and 0.3% were in the other gender category. When the marital status distribution was examined, 75.8% were single, 20.2% were married, 1.3% were widowed, and 2.7% were in the other category. When the level of education was examined, it was seen that the participants had at least an undergraduate degree, while the highest level of education was a doctorate. When the employment status was considered, 61.3% of the participants were employed, while 38.7% were unemployed. Independent t-test, hierarchical regression, and logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the data. According to the tested hypotheses, individuals with clinical level of anxiety had significantly higher intolerance of uncertainty scores compared to individuals without anxiety (p < .001, Cohen's d = 0.86); individuals with clinical level of anxiety had significantly higher anxious attachment scores compared to individuals without anxiety (p < .001, Cohen's d = 0.37); Individuals with clinically anxious levels were found to have significantly higher avoidant attachment scores compared to those without (p < .001, Cohen's d = 0.30), and the hypotheses were supported.