A novel method for assessing distress intolerance: Adaptation of a measure of willingness to pay

Background and ObjectivesDistress intolerance is a core element of many models of psychopathology and is related to a range of disorders and maladaptive behaviors. However, research on distress intolerance has been hampered by inconsistency in its assessment. Moreover, recent perspectives suggest that distress intolerance varies based on the domain of distress, highlighting the need for a measure that can capture intolerance across types of distress. This paper introduces a novel measure for distress intolerance: an adaptation of the willingness to pay (WTP) measure, which provides a consistent metric for assessing distress intolerance across domains of distress.MethodsThe WTP Distress Intolerance (WTP-DI) measure was administered to two samples of participants and feasibility and validity were evaluated.ResultsEvidence from unselected and clinical samples provide evidence for the feasibility and discriminant and concurrent validity of this measure.LimitationsTesting WTP-DI in larger samples and across additional domains of distress is needed.ConclusionsThe WTP-DI measure provides a new measure of distress intolerance that addresses the primary limitations of existing measures and has potential to serve as a cross domain measure to facilitate comparison across types of distress.

► A measure of willingness to pay was adapted for the assessment of distress intolerance.
► Support was found for the feasibility and validity of the willingness to pay measure.
► Individuals with substance dependence exhibit particularly elevated distress intolerance.