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Symptom Attributions in Illness Anxiety Disorder
Monique L Holden1, Chien H Gooi1, Sophie Antognelli1
1School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Journal of Clinical Psychology
|January 10, 2025
Summary
Individuals with Illness Anxiety Disorder attribute benign bodily sensations to serious illnesses, unlike healthy individuals. This cognitive pattern supports health anxiety theories and informs treatment approaches.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Background:
- Health anxiety involves attributing benign bodily sensations to severe illnesses.
- Previous research supports this in non-clinical and hypochondriasis samples.
- Illness Anxiety Disorder (DSM-5) symptom attribution remains unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate symptom attribution styles in individuals diagnosed with Illness Anxiety Disorder.
- To compare attribution patterns between Illness Anxiety Disorder patients and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-one participants (35 with Illness Anxiety Disorder, 26 healthy controls) were recruited.
- Participants completed health anxiety measures and an Attribution Task.
- The task involved generating explanations for common bodily sensations.
Main Results:
- Illness Anxiety Disorder participants made more catastrophic somatic attributions for symptoms.
- They generated fewer non-threatening, normalizing explanations compared to controls.
- A 'jumping to conclusions' bias was observed, with fewer overall attributions made.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the cognitive behavioral theory of health anxiety.
- Results underscore the significance of assessing and addressing symptom attributions in Illness Anxiety Disorder.
- This highlights a key cognitive mechanism in the maintenance of health anxiety.
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