Relationships Among Perceived Racial Stress, Intolerance of Uncertainty, and Worry in a Black Sample

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among chronic worry, perceived racial stress, and intolerance of uncertainty in a sample of adults who racially identify as Black. Intolerance of uncertainty has been associated with worry and generalized anxiety disorder in predominantly White samples. Given that racial stress is likely to increase worry, perhaps through the mechanism of intolerance of uncertainty, intolerance of uncertainty was hypothesized to mediate the relationship between perceived racial stress and chronic worry. A nonclinical sample of 77 Black undergraduate students at an urban university completed a series of questionnaires assessing the constructs of interest. Both perceived racial stress and intolerance of uncertainty were significantly correlated with chronic worry in this sample. Moreover, intolerance of uncertainty fully mediated the relationship between perceived racial stress and worry for these Black individuals. These findings are discussed in terms of directions for future research and implications for clinical interventions for Black individuals who are both exposed to racial stress and suffer from chronic worry.