Cyberchondria and its Relationships with Related Constructs: a Network Analysis

Starcevic, V; Baggio, S; Berle, D; Khazaal, Y; Viswasam, K

Cyberchondria and its Relationships with Related Constructs: a Network Analysis

Starcevic, V Baggio, S Berle, D

Khazaal, Y Viswasam, K

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Psychiatric Quarterly, 2019, 90 (3), pp. 491 - 505
Issue Date:: 2019-09-15

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Starcevic, V	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Baggio, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Berle, D https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4861-2220	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Khazaal, Y	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Viswasam, K	en_US
dc.date.issued	2019-09-15	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Psychiatric Quarterly, 2019, 90 (3), pp. 491 - 505	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0033-2720	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/137002
dc.description.abstract	© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Cyberchondria denotes repeated online searches for health information that are associated with increasing levels of health anxiety. The aims of this study were to apply network analysis to investigate the extent to which cyberchondria is a distinct construct, ascertain which of the related constructs have the strongest relationships with cyberchondria and investigate whether some of the symptoms of cyberchondria are more central to the construct of cyberchondria. Questionnaires assessing the severity of cyberchondria, health anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms, intolerance of uncertainty, problematic Internet use, anxiety, depression and somatic symptoms were administered to 751 participants who searched for health information online during a previous 3-month period and were recruited from an online crowdsourcing platform. Network analyses were used to compute the networks, perform community detection tests and calculate centrality indices. Results suggest that cyberchondria is a relatively specific syndrome-like construct, distinct from all related constructs and consisting of interrelated symptoms. It has the strongest relationships with problematic Internet use and health anxiety. No symptom of cyberchondria emerged clearly as more central to the construct of cyberchondria. Future research should aim to deepen our understanding of cyberchondria and its links with psychopathology, especially its close relationship with problematic Internet use.	en_US
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/APP1122203
dc.relation.ispartof	Psychiatric Quarterly	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s11126-019-09640-5	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Psychiatry	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Cluster Analysis	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Uncertainty	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Depression	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Behavior, Addictive	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Anxiety	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Hypochondriasis	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Internet	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Consumer Health Information	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Surveys and Questionnaires	en_US
dc.title	Cyberchondria and its Relationships with Related Constructs: a Network Analysis	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	90	en_US
utslib.for	1103 Clinical Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Graduate School of Health
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	3	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	90	en_US

Abstract:

© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Cyberchondria denotes repeated online searches for health information that are associated with increasing levels of health anxiety. The aims of this study were to apply network analysis to investigate the extent to which cyberchondria is a distinct construct, ascertain which of the related constructs have the strongest relationships with cyberchondria and investigate whether some of the symptoms of cyberchondria are more central to the construct of cyberchondria. Questionnaires assessing the severity of cyberchondria, health anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms, intolerance of uncertainty, problematic Internet use, anxiety, depression and somatic symptoms were administered to 751 participants who searched for health information online during a previous 3-month period and were recruited from an online crowdsourcing platform. Network analyses were used to compute the networks, perform community detection tests and calculate centrality indices. Results suggest that cyberchondria is a relatively specific syndrome-like construct, distinct from all related constructs and consisting of interrelated symptoms. It has the strongest relationships with problematic Internet use and health anxiety. No symptom of cyberchondria emerged clearly as more central to the construct of cyberchondria. Future research should aim to deepen our understanding of cyberchondria and its links with psychopathology, especially its close relationship with problematic Internet use.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/137002