In plain language
Psychology has long treated "rigidity" — the tendency to structure the world in simple, unambiguous ways — as bad for mental health, and cognitive behavioural therapies often include components designed to reduce it. But is every aspect of rigidity actually harmful? This study pulled the concept apart. The Personal Need for Structure scale contains two related but distinct factors: the desire for simple structure (enjoying a clear, organized mode of life) and the intolerance of uncertainty (finding uncertain situations distressing and unacceptable).
Across two cross-sectional surveys of undergraduates (N = 240 and N = 331), the two components behaved very differently. Simply preferring a structured, simple life was not associated with poor mental health at all — in fact, it was linked to less hopelessness. Intolerance of uncertainty, by contrast, was associated with more depression, anxiety, stress, suicidal ideation, and hopelessness. Moderational analyses showed that intolerance of uncertainty also magnified the damage done by stressful life events: the same stressors hit uncertainty-intolerant people harder.
The practical implication for therapists: the target is not a client's preference for order and simplicity, which may even be protective, but their demand that life be certain. It is when preferences harden into requirements that distress follows.
Key findings
- "Rigidity" is not one thing: the desire for simple structure (DSS) and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) are distinct components with opposite mental-health signatures.
- DSS was not associated with poor mental health, and was linked to lower hopelessness.
- IU was associated with higher depression, anxiety, stress, suicidal ideation, and hopelessness across both samples (N = 240; N = 331).
- IU amplified the adverse effects of stressful life events on depression, anxiety, and hopelessness.
- IU related more strongly to negative indices of well-being than to the positive index (life satisfaction).
- Findings suggest CBT should target intolerance of uncertainty specifically, rather than need for structure in general.
How to cite
APA
Ciarrochi, J., Said, T., & Deane, F. P. (2005). When simplifying life is not so bad: the link between rigidity, stressful life events, and mental health in an undergraduate population. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 33(2), 185–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069880500132540
BibTeX
@article{ciarrochi2005when,
title = {When simplifying life is not so bad: the link between rigidity, stressful life events, and mental health in an undergraduate population},
author = {Ciarrochi, Joseph and Said, Terri and Deane, Frank P.},
journal = {British Journal of Guidance \& Counselling},
volume = {33},
number = {2},
pages = {185--197},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1080/03069880500132540}
}
Related work
- All publications by Joseph Ciarrochi (searchable, with free PDFs)
- Process-Based Therapy & Idionomic Analysis
Author: Joseph Ciarrochi (ORCID 0000-0003-0471-8100). Free copy hosted with permission for scholarly use. Please cite the published version via the DOI above.