Role of Traumatic Events and Motivational Structure in Ambiguity Tolerance of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

The main purpose of this study was to delineate the role of motivational structure and traumatic events in the prediction of ambiguity tolerance in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

A total of 200 patients with the diagnosis of IBS, referred to the Shariati hospital in 2018, were enrolled using a correlational design and convenience sampling. All participants were asked to complete the ambiguity tolerance questionnaire, the life event checklist, and the personal concerns inventory. Data analysis was performed by Pearson correlation method and regression analysis test in SPSS software.

Findings showed that there was a significant relationship between traumatic events (r = - 0.66, P = 0.01) and adaptive (r = 0.24, P = 0.01) and non-adaptive motivational structure (non-AMS) (r = - 0.10, P = 0.01) with tolerance of ambiguity (P < 0.05). With increasing non-AMS and with decreasing non-AMS and traumatic events, the tolerance of ambiguity is increased. Moreover, the motivational structure (adaptive and non-adaptive) and traumatic events could define and predict 43% of the variance in ambiguity tolerance.

Thus, regarding the important role of motivational structure and traumatic events in predicting ambiguity tolerance in IBS patients, it is prudent to put emphasis on these measures to improve patients’ overall health and probably alleviate symptoms and provide psychologic rehabilitation.