The Role of Inhibitory Intolerance of Uncertainty on Childhood Maltreatment and Exploratory Behaviour

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the role of inhibitory intolerance of uncertainty (IU) in moderating the relationship between childhood maltreatment and exploratory behaviour in uncertain environments. Method: A sample of 71 healthy adults (M_age = 23.4 years, SD = 2.51; 56.3% female) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) and the Inhibitory Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS). Exploratory behaviour was assessed using a computerized exploitation-exploration task programmed in PsychoPy. Data was analysed using Pearson's correlation and moderation analysis with the PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results: Pearson's correlation revealed significant relationships between childhood maltreatment and exploratory behaviour (r = -.26, p = .015), and between childhood maltreatment and inhibitory IU (r = .25, p = .018). The moderation analysis indicated that inhibitory IU did not significantly moderate the effect of childhood maltreatment on exploratory behaviour (p = .069). However, further analysis revealed significant conditional effects of childhood maltreatment on exploratory behaviour when inhibitory IU was at average or low levels. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the impact of childhood maltreatment on exploratory behaviour is influenced by levels of inhibitory IU, with significant effects observed at lower levels of inhibitory IU. This highlights the importance of considering individual differences in inhibitory IU when examining the effects of childhood maltreatment on behaviour in uncertain environments.