Coping with uncertainty: the construction and validation of a new measure

The present study describes the construction and validation of a new scale for measuring styles of coping with uncertainty, entitled the Uncertainty Response Scale (URS). Principal-axis factoring of an initial item pool generated by a scenario study yielded three factors labelled emotional uncertainty, desire for change and cognitive uncertainty, all of which showed high internal (coefficient alpha) and re-test reliabilities. Emotional uncertainty was of particular interest in this study, and was validated by means of an experiment in which physiological and psychological responses to the anticipation of threat were assessed. The findings showed that heart-rate, blood pressure and state anxiety were affected in predictable ways as a function of scores on the new scale, and the paper concludes with suggestions for research applications using the URS.