Distress Tolerance’s Time Course and Prognostic Utility in Partial Hospital Treatment
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: This study examines how self-reported distress tolerance changes during intensive, cognitive-behavioral therapy–oriented partial hospital treatment and whether distress tolerance at admission predicts clinical improvement. Participants were 854 adults receiving treatment for acute psychiatric symptoms. Distress tolerance was assessed repeatedly during treatment, and patients and clinicians rated global clinical improvement at discharge. Distress tolerance improved substantially from admission to discharge (0.73 standard deviations), with the largest gains occurring during the first few days. Admission distress tolerance showed only weak associations with subsequent clinical improvement, with limited additional predictive value after accounting for demographic characteristics and baseline depressive symptoms. These findings characterize distress tolerance’s time course during intensive treatment and suggest limited prognostic utility for admission scores in this setting.
Source: OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Authors: Kimberly J. Gilbert, Christopher Conway
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7155285570