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The Association between Intolerance of Uncertainty and Mental Health Symptoms among 86,767 Chinese College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Latent Profile Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2025

Zijie Ma ,
Yujing Chen ,
Yishuai Deng ,
Cong Luo ,
Lili Liu ,
Andi Huang ,
Xiayong Wang ,
Jiahong Li  and
Jingbo Zhao Open the ORCID record for Jingbo Zhao [Opens in a new window]
Zijie Ma
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou China Mental Health Education and Counseling Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou, China
Yujing Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou China
Yishuai Deng
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou China
Cong Luo
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou China
Lili Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou China
Andi Huang
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou China
Xiayong Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou China
Jiahong Li
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou China
Jingbo Zhao*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou China Mental Health Education and Counseling Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou, China
*
Corresponding author: Jingbo Zhao; Email: mingtian@smu.edu.cn
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Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the individual characteristics of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and its association with mental health symptoms among Chinese college students during COVID-19.

Methods

In total, 86,767 students completed the online survey in Guangdong province in June 2021. Data collected including socio-demographic and COVID-19-related information, IU, and mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, insomnia, and suicidal ideation). Latent profile analysis was used to classify IU subgroups. Logistic regression was used to identify IU risk factors.

Results

Four IU subgroups were identified, named low IU (n = 9,197, 10.6%), medium-low IU (n = 25,514, 29.4%), medium-high IU (n = 38,805, 44.7%), and high IU (n = 13,251, 15.3%). Scores of mental health symptoms varied from the degree of IU in the latent profiles. Mental health status was the worst in the high IU group. In addition, females, freshmen, and those perceiving more impacts from COVID-19 and spending longer time surfing COVID-19 information online were at risk of high IU.

Conclusions

Our findings showed that individuals differ in the total degree of intolerance of the uncertainties. Students with high IU were associated with worse mental health symptoms. Thus, taking actions to target individuals with high IU and developing their adaptive coping strategies are imperative during pandemics.

Keywords

Intolerance of uncertaintymental healthcollege studentsSARS-CoV-2

Information

Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 19 , 2025 , e303
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

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Footnotes

Zijie, Yujing, and Yishuai, are contributed equally to this work

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