Cyberchondria and Intolerance of Uncertainty: Examining When Individuals Experience Health Anxiety in Response to Internet Searches for Medical Information

Abstract

Individuals frequently use the Internet to search for medical information. However, for some individuals, searching for medical information on the Internet is associated with an exacerbation of health anxiety. Researchers have termed this phenomenon as cyberchondria. The present research sought to shed further light onto the phenomenology of cyberchondria. In particular, the moderating effect of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) on the relationship between the frequency of Internet searches for medical information and health anxiety was examined using a large sample of medically healthy community adults located in the United States (N=512). The purported moderating effect of IU was supported. More specifically, the relationship between the frequency of Internet searches for medical information and health anxiety grew increasingly stronger as IU increased. This moderating effect of IU was not attributable to general distress. These results suggest that IU is important for better understanding the exacerbation of health anxiety in response to Internet searches for medical information. Conceptual and therapeutic implications of these results are discussed.

Health anxiety and Internet use: A thematic analysis

“…Findings were largely consistent with several concepts from the CBT theory/model of health anxiety (Warwick & Salkovskis, 1990) but extend previous empirical research by demonstrating how concepts such as intolerance of uncertainty (Fergus, 2013(Fergus, , 2015Norr et al, 2015), and the need for reassurance (Singh & Brown, 2015) apply to health related Internet use. This study also demonstrates how theoretical concepts such as catastrophic thinking (Barsky, 2001), inflated likelihoods of illness presence and acquisition/hypervigilence (Starcevic, 2005), and dysfunctional illness beliefs apply to health related Internet use (theoretically; Marcus, Gurley, Marchi and Bauer, 2007, empirically;Fergus, 2013Fergus, , 2015Singh & Brown, 2015). In particular, intolerance for uncertainty was an important finding in this study and is a sub-theme which extends across the search timeframe (i.e.…”

“…predisposition to search, proximal pre-search, and post search; see figure 2). Previous studies (Fergus, 2013(Fergus, , 2015Norr et al, 2015) have uncovered an empirical link between intolerance of uncertainty, health related Internet use, and distress. Our findings support these studies in demonstrating from a health anxious user's point of view, the importance of uncertainty in initiating a search (i.e.…”

“…Common illness cognitions in health anxious individuals include erroneous beliefs about the likelihood of currently having or acquiring a serious illness (Abramowitz, Olatunji, & Deacon, 2007;Marcus & Church, 2003) and beliefs concerning the dangerousness and intolerability of uncertainty (Deacon & Abramowitz, 2008). Intolerability of uncertainty may also prompt health related Internet use in health anxious individuals (Fergus, 2013) and may cause distress with this type of searching (Fergus, 2015;Norr, Albanese, Oglesby, Allan, & Schmidt, 2015). In relation to behavioural maintenance factors, there is evidence (Conroy, Smyth, Siriwardena, & Fernandes, 1999;Hadjistavropoulos, Craig, & Hadjistavropoulos, 1998;Warwick & Marks, 1988) that health anxious individuals will seek reassurance from sources such as the doctor and/or friends and family.…”

The Impact of Medical Terminology in Self-Triage Decision-Making

“…With individuals reporting self-triage as one of the primary reasons for online health information seeking (Bowes et al, 2012), decisions to seek care are now influenced by publically available information, most of which is found on the Internet (Morahan-Martin, 2004). More specifically, searching for health information may actually escalate health concerns (White and Horvitz, 2009;Fergus, 2013) and health information "facts" are often hard to find and are rarely contained within the same information site (Benigeri and Pluye, 2003). Further, information on the Internet is not always reliable (Diaz et al, 2002), frequently includes multiple possible diagnoses that range in severity, and diseases are often presented in technical or medical terminology (e.g.…”

Use of Web-Based Health Services in Individuals With and Without Symptoms of Hypochondria: Survey Study (Preprint)

“…For example, multiple medical possibilities, some of which are catastrophic in nature, are typically presented in response to Internet searches of medical concerns [5]. Therefore, searching for medical information on the Internet has the potential to lead to even greater levels of uncertainty and consequently exacerbate health anxiety for vulnerable individuals.…”