The role of intolerance of uncertainty and negative metacognitive beliefs in fear of cancer recurrence: a longitudinal study

Our recent study and other studies showed that maladaptive metacognitive styles play an important role in the development of high fear of cancer recurrence. However, the current evidence only partially explained the underlying mechanism of fear of cancer recurrence. A larger proportion of fear of cancer recurrence variability was left unexplained. To develop better interventions we must identify other potential contributing factor(s) producing fear of cancer recurrence. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) has been linked to anxiety-related disorders. IU involves beliefs about the importance of having certainty in life and one’s ability to unmanage unpredictability or ambiguity. Research suggests that IU plays an important role in the acquisition and maintenance of worries. Persistence of IU may result in biased information processing in the context of ambiguity, threatening interpretations of uncertainty and negatively reinforcing certainty-seeking behaviors. Given all cancer survivors face the uncertainty of cancer recurrence, the ability of individuals to cope with that uncertainty may have impact on fear of cancer recurrence. However, little is known about the role of IU in fear of cancer recurrence. Therefore, we are conducting a longitudinal study, which aims to examine the role of IU and negative metacognitive beliefs in fear of cancer recurrence among cancer survivors.