The relation between worrying and concerns: the importance of perceived probability and cost

The relation between worrying and individuals' concerns was examined in a sample of 197 college students. Participants described the five undesirable outcomes that they thought about most often, indicated how likely they thought the outcomes were, and how upset they would be by them. Worry severity was measured using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. The relation between worry severity and the life domains about which individuals were concerned was quite weak. In contrast, as predicted, greater worry was associated with higher probability and cost estimates. In addition, cost estimates moderated the relation between worry severity and probability estimates. The potential importance of perceived threat for understanding worrying is discussed.