Debriefing sheet

“Understanding Intolerance of Uncertainty and Social Anxiety

among Students”

I greatly appreciate your contribution by taking part in this study. Your

participation will help us to understand why some students may experience more
anxiety within social situations.

The background and aim of this study

The prevalence of social anxiety, characterized by feeling uncomfortable and

anxious in social situations, is estimated at 3.2% - 11.6% among students (e.g.
Izgicet al., 2004; Verger et al., 2010; Baptistaet al., 2012). Growing evidence
indicates a strong correlation between social anxiety and intolerance of
uncertainty (e.g. Boelen and Reijntjes, 2009; Boelenet al., 2010; McEvoy and
Mahoney, 2011; Mahoney and McEvoy, 2012; Whiting et al., 2013). Intolerance
of uncertainty isa tendency to think that an uncertain situation will lead to a
negative outcome and that uncertainty is unacceptable and to be avoided.
Interestingly, several recent studies support the idea that intolerance of uncertainty
is also correlated with other forms of anxiety and low mood (e.g. Boelen and
Reijntjes, 2009; Carleton et al., 2012). Furthermore, social anxiety has been
linked with the use of alcohol and recreational drugs. A small number of studies
have examined the linkage between them among young adults with mixed
results(e.g. Buckner et al., 2008; Buckner and Turner, 2009; Ham et al., 2010;
Frojdet al., 2011; Moreno et al., 2012).This indicates a need for further research.
Given a possible link between social anxiety and alcohol and recreational drug
use, it is proposed that there may also be a link to intolerance of uncertainty.

Thus the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships of students’

experience of uncertainty and anxiety, whether they use various substances such
as tobacco, alcohol and recreational drugs, and the types of situations where these
may be consumed. While some studies have looked at some of these, to the best
of our knowledge no study has examined all of them at the same time. This study
will be able to link them all together in a way that we hope will lead to a better
understanding than is currently possible.

Understanding these relationships may help us to a better understanding of why

some students may be more anxious in social situations and then may develop
patterns of substance use.This type of information may be used in the future to
inform the way help is offered to students and other people with anxiety and
unhelpful patterns of substance use.

If you would like to find out more information about social anxietyand the other
factors please look at one or more of these sources:

Shafran, R., Brosan, L., & Cooper, P. (2013). The Complete CBT Guide for
Anxiety. Robinson. UK.

Carleton, R.N. (2012). The intolerance of uncertainty construct in the context of

anxiety disorders: theoretical and practical perspectives. Expert Review of
Neurotherapeutic, 12 (8), 937–947.

Buckner, J.D., Schmidt, N.B., Lang, A.R., Small, J.W., Schlauch, R.C.,
&Lewinsohn, P.M. (2008). Specificity of social anxiety disorder as a risk factor
for alcohol and cannabis dependence. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 42, 230-
239.

The measures
In order to further our understanding this study has included a series of
questionnaires mostly about your experience of anxiety. This study also requires
some of your personal information (age, race, gender) but not your contact details.

The participants
We are interested in understanding these relationships among students because of
the levels of anxiety reported by students.

Confidentiality
This study does not take any personally identifiable information such as your
name, home address or e-mail address. Your computer IP addresses will not be
stored. Your data remains anonymous at all time. If you wish to request an
electronic debriefing report, you will be directed to a separate file. This
information will not be able to be linked to your data. All the digital information
will be stored electronically on a specific server that will be protected with a
password and only accessible to the research team.

This study adheres to the Data Protection Act 1998 and has been reviewed by the
Newcastle University’s Research Ethics Committee, Newcastle University.

The results will form part of the PhD degree work of the main researcher and will
be written up and presented. You will not be identifiable in any reports or
publications.
The risk
The questionnaires used in this study ask about day-to-day experiences of anxiety
in different forms and situations. Therefore, we do not expect any adverse effects.
We do not expect any impact on your physical condition and no more than minor
and temporary effects on your psychological well-being.

Additionally, one of the questionnaires inquires about your experience with

alcohol and recreational drugs, including illicit drugs that you personally may or
may not use. Thus, you may be concerned about answering truthfully. In fact, you
do not need to worry because all the information has been collected anonymously;
we cannot identify you in any way.

However, if for any reason you feel concerned or distressed, we would

recommend that you contact:

 your GP
 a health advisor at NHS Direct (available 24 hours on 111 or online at
www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk), or
 the Student Wellbeing-Mental Health and Counselling Support at: King's
Gate; Newcastle University; Newcastle upon Tyne; NE1 7RU (Telephone:
0191 208 3333; Text phone: 18001 0191 208 3333) or visit the website at
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/wellbeing/support/ (free and confidential
advice)
 information about anxiety or alcohol and substance use is also freely
available in self-help leaflets at http://www.ntw.nhs.uk/pic/?p=selfhelp
 FRANK for all types information and advice on drugs
http://www.talktofrank.com/
Further information and contact details
If you would like further details or you would like to receive a report of this
research when it has been completed, please do not hesitate to contact:

M. SalisYuniardi

PhD Student,

Henry Wellcome Building; Institute of Neuroscience,

Newcastle University; Framlington Place; NE2 4HH.

Email: socialanxiety@ncl.ac.uk

Under the supervision of:

Prof Mark Freeston: Professor of Clinical Psychology, Newcastle University

Dr Jacqui Rodgers: Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, Newcastle University

Thank you again for participating and helping with this study.

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Boelen, P.A., &Reijntjes, A. (2009). Intolerance of uncertainty and social anxiety.
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Boelen, P.A., Vrinssen, I., & van Tulder, F. (2010). Intolerance of uncertainty
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Buckner, J.D., Schmidt, N.B., Lang, A.R., Small, J.W., Schlauch, R.C.,
&Lewinsohn, P.M. (2008). Specificity of social anxiety disorder as a risk
factor for alcohol and cannabis dependence. Journal of Psychiatric
Research, 42, 230-239.
Buckner, J.D., & Turner, R.J. (2009). Social anxiety disorder as a risk factor for
alcohol use disorders: A prospective examination of parental and peer
influences. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 100, 128-137.
Carleton, R.N., Mulvogue, M.K., Thibodeau, M.A., McCabe, R.E., Antony, M.G.,
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