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A single 20 to 30-minute online course can help young adults become more tolerant of uncertainty and less anxious and depressed, a study led by UNSW Sydney psychologists has found.

And the improved mental health effects were still evident at least a month after completing the course.

The study, which was published today in the journal Psychological Medicine, comes at a time when young adults face persistent uncertainty – from the pandemic to global instability to cost-of living pressures and housing shortages.

“Young people today are coming of age amid great climate, economic, social, and health uncertainty,” says Associate Professor Susanne Schweizer, the study’s senior author.

“High uncertainty has been proposed as a driver of the rising rates of youth mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.

“In this study we showed that an ultra-brief course – one that took less than half an hour to complete – successfully improved emerging adults’ tolerance of uncertainty, which significantly benefited their mental health one month later.”

A/Prof. Schweizer notes that the effects of uncertainty on mental health aren’t just limited to young people, but there is a clear difference in the way they cope with it, compared to older adults.

“While it applies at all ages, adolescents and emerging adults report greater intolerance of uncertainty. It’s something we saw increase in young people during the pandemic, and it continues to shape how they respond to stress in their everyday lives,” she says.

The course

The study recruited 259 young adults aged 18 to 24, who were assigned to one of two brief online training modules or a no-training control group.

The Uncertainty-Mindset Training module, completed by 103 participants, encouraged young adults to view uncertainty as less threatening, highlighted that coping with uncertainty is a skill that can be strengthened, and taught the STAR strategy (STop, Accept, and Re-think) to disrupt worry and rumination — patterns that link intolerance of uncertainty to anxiety and depression.

A similar number (106 participants) completed the Psychoeducation Training, which focused on general wellbeing topics such as emotion regulation, cognitive biases, social connection and healthy habits, but did not address intolerance of uncertainty directly.

The no-training group completed the same assessments at each time point but did not receive any course content, allowing researchers to compare the effects of the two modules with natural change over time.

How they fared

Despite lasting less than half an hour, the Uncertainty-Mindset Training produced the clearest improvements in intolerance of uncertainty and mental health measured at course completion and one month later. Young adults who completed the training showed substantial reductions in intolerance of uncertainty, along with decreases in anxiety and depression.

“The fact that a single session could produce measurable improvements suggests this kind of approach may have real value. Helping young people rethink their relationship with uncertainty in a simple, accessible way means young adults from all backgrounds – especially those who may not have access to traditional services – can thrive in uncertain times.”

Meanwhile, the psychoeducation module produced more modest effects, while the no-training group showed no meaningful change.

When participants of this module were surveyed three months later, their tolerance of uncertainty was still much improved, but the reduction in depression and anxiety had begun to wane.

Interpretation

The research showed the Uncertainty-Mindset Training had a lasting effect.

“The fact that intolerance of uncertainty remained lower, even three months after completion of just one 20-to-30-minute session, suggests potential for longer term resilience, even though mood effects waned,” A/Prof. Schweizer says.

“Low-cost, scalable tools like this one could help prevention efforts at a population level, but we stress they’re not substitutes for person-to-person care in severe cases.

“Nevertheless, it’s encouraging to see such meaningful changes emerge from a course that takes so little effort and time.”

What’s next

The researchers now plan to refine the Uncertainty-Mindset Training to extend its mental health benefits.

First author Sarah Daniels – who is now focusing on intolerance of uncertainty for her thesis research at University of Cambridge – says while the training course successfully shifted the underlying psychological mechanism, additional support may be needed to maintain mental health benefits over time.

“I think some aspects are likely to stick, but I suspect boosters would be an effective way to bolster additional resilience,” she says.

“The great strength of this approach is that it’s brief and accessible. If further testing shows we can extend its benefits, there’s real potential for it to be offered more widely to young people worldwide to support their mental health as they navigate current and future uncertainties.”

Future research will also investigate whether the training can be tailored to specific groups that experience high levels of uncertainty such as individuals in the perinatal period, or individuals awaiting the results of medical tests, the researchers say.

• If you'd like to participate in future studies, visit UNSW's DAS lab.