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Cyberchondria and its Relationships with Related Constructs: a Network Analysis
Vladan Starcevic1,2, Stéphanie Baggio3,4, David Berle5,6
1Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney Medical School, Nepean Clinical School, Discipline of Psychiatry, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. vladan.starcevic@sydney.edu.au.
The Psychiatric Quarterly
|May 18, 2019
Summary
Cyberchondria, or excessive online health searching, is a distinct construct most strongly linked to problematic internet use and health anxiety. Its symptoms are interrelated but no single symptom is clearly central.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Digital Health
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Cyberchondria involves repeated online health searches linked to escalating health anxiety.
- Understanding cyberchondria's distinctiveness and core features is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cyberchondria as a distinct construct using network analysis.
- To identify the strongest relationships between cyberchondria and related psychological constructs.
- To determine the centrality of individual cyberchondria symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Network analysis was applied to data from 751 participants reporting online health searches.
- Questionnaires assessed cyberchondria, health anxiety, OCD symptoms, uncertainty intolerance, problematic internet use, anxiety, depression, and somatic symptoms.
- Centrality indices and community detection were used to analyze symptom networks.
Main Results:
- Cyberchondria emerged as a distinct syndrome-like construct, separate from related conditions.
- The strongest associations were found with problematic internet use and health anxiety.
- No single cyberchondria symptom was identified as significantly more central than others.
Conclusions:
- Cyberchondria is a specific, interconnected set of symptoms with strong ties to problematic internet use and health anxiety.
- Further research is needed to explore cyberchondria's links with psychopathology.
- Interventions may benefit from addressing both online behaviors and underlying anxiety.
Keywords:
CyberchondriaHealth anxietyNetwork analysisOnline health informationProblematic internet useMore Related Videos
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