(PS2-A11) Depression and Anxiety Predict Reactivity to Uncertainty and Mortality Stressors

Background: Uncertainty and mortality salience have both been identified as stressors which can profoundly shift cognitive and emotional states; however, little is known about whether pre- existing psychological distress may represent a vulnerability that exacerbates possible negative responses to these threats. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether individuals experiencing elevated psychological distress would respond more negatively when confronted with uncertainty or mortality salience.

Methods: Experiment 1 consisted of 112 undergraduate students who were randomized to an uncertainty induction or control condition, while experiment 2 consisted of 146 undergraduates randomized to a mortality salience induction or control condition. Measures of trait anxiety and depression were assessed pre-induction and various measures of affective responding were administered after the induction.

Results: Interaction effects were found such that individuals higher in depression and trait anxiety showed higher levels of negative affect in the uncertainty group relative to control. Pre-registered analyses showed more limited and converse effects with mortality salience, such that individuals higher in depression and trait anxiety tended to report lower levels of negative affect following mortality salience. Exploratory linguistic analysis of participants’ text responses to these threats demonstrated a similar pattern of results.

Conclusion: Findings indicate that uncertainty and mortality salience had different effects on individuals with elevated trait anxiety and depression, demonstrating that these threats are indeed distinct. Whereas mortality salience may promote compensatory responding for individuals with psychological vulnerabilities, uncertainty may reflect a more unique threat, provoking a separate pattern of distress response.