Search results for "Cyberchondria"
showing 5 items of 5 documents
Do Dr. Google and Health Apps Have (Comparable) Side Effects? An Experimental Study
2020
Googling and using apps for health-related information are highly prevalent worldwide. So far, little is known about the emotional, body-related, and behavioral effects of using both Google and health-related apps. In our experimental study, bodily symptoms were first provoked by a standardized hyperventilation test. A total of 147 participants (96.6% students) were then randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Googling for the causes of the currently experienced bodily symptoms, using a medical app to diagnose the experienced symptoms, and a waiting control condition. Health-related Internet use for symptoms led to stronger negative affect, increased health anxiety, and increased nee…
Recent Insights Into Cyberchondria.
2020
Purpose of Review The construct of cyberchondria was introduced relatively recently. This article aims to review the conceptualization, theoretical basis and correlates of cyberchondria, as well as its prevention and management. Recent Findings Although there is no consensus, most definitions of cyberchondria emphasize online health research associated with heightened distress or anxiety. The two theoretical models of cyberchondria involve reassurance seeking and specific metacognitive beliefs. Cyberchondria has relationships with health anxiety, problematic Internet use and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, with public health implications pertaining to functional impairment and al…
The relationships between health anxiety, online health information seeking, and cyberchondria: Systematic review and meta-analysis
2018
© 2018 Background: Cyberchondria refers to an abnormal behavioral pattern in which excessive or repeated online searches for health-related information are distressing or anxiety-provoking. Health anxiety has been found to be associated with both online health information seeking and cyberchondria. The aims of the present systematic review and meta-analysis were to examine the magnitude of these associations and identify any moderator variables. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed across several databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase) and reference lists of included studies. Results: Twenty studies were included across two independent meta-analyses, with 7373 participants. Ra…
Conceptualizations of Cyberchondria and Relations to the Anxiety Spectrum: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
2021
Background Cyberchondria describes the detrimental effects of health-related internet use. Current conceptualizations agree that cyberchondria is associated with anxiety-related pathologies and may best be conceptualized as a safety behavior; however, little is known about its exact underlying mechanisms. Objective This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to give an overview of the conceptualizations of cyberchondria and its relation to anxiety-related pathologies, quantify the strength of association to health anxiety by using meta-analyses, highlight gaps in the literature, and outline a hypothetical integrative cognitive-behavioral model of cyberchondria based on the available empi…
Health anxiety, cyberchondria, and coping in the current COVID-19 pandemic: Which factors are related to coronavirus anxiety?
2020
Highlights • First study on anxiety and cyberchondria during the COVID-19 pandemic. • The increase in virus anxiety was particularly strong with elevated health anxiety. • Health anxiety, cyberchondria, and virus anxiety are positively associated. • Combined health anxiety and cyberchondria is associated with strong virus anxiety. • Being informed and adaptive emotion regulation can have a beneficial effect.