Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Winer, Eric Samuel
Committee Member
DeShong, Hilary L.
Committee Member
McKinney, Cliff
Committee Member
Oliveros, Arazais
Date of Degree
8-9-2022
Document Type
Dissertation - Open Access
Major
Applied Psychology
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Department of Psychology
Abstract
Distress tolerance is often defined as one’s ability to tolerate and withstand negative and/or uncomfortable emotional states (Simons & Gaher, 2005; Zvolensky et al., 2001). However, after nearly two decades of research, there is still no consensus on how to best conceptualize and measure distress tolerance. A historical account of the conceptualization and measurement of distress tolerance demonstrates that the distress tolerance literature may have missed a crucial step in theory development: obtaining a thorough understanding of the concept in question (Dubin, 1969). Without adequately addressing this important step in theory development, it is likely that continued efforts to research distress tolerance will ultimately fail to progress science in a meaningful way. Thus, the goal of this study was to conduct an in-depth, mixed methods investigation into how individuals define key terms used in self-report measures of distress tolerance: “distress” and “upset,” and what (if any) intraindividual or domain-specific differences they report. Thematic analysis showed no consensus on participants’ understandings of the key terms—a finding that poses deep questions regarding its potential utility to advance knowledge in the field of psychopathology. The thematic analysis revealed important intraindividual differences in distress tolerance that can aid in future investigation.
Recommended Citation
Lass, Alisson Nicole Schultz, "What is distress tolerance? A mixed methods investigation into distress tolerance and its measurement" (2022). Theses and Dissertations. 5630.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/5630