The effects of safety behaviors on health anxiety: An experimental investigation

Olatunji, Bunmi O.; Etzel, Erin N.; Tomarken, Andrew J.; Ciesielski, Bethany G.; Deacon, Brett J.

doi:10.1016/j.brat.2011.07.008

Cited by 162 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Future longitudinal studies are necessary to determine which constructs prospectively predict the onset of health anxiety in response to the threat of a serious disease. Similarly, the possibility that safety behaviors generate or exacerbate Ebola concerns is especially worthy of consideration in light of research showing that deliberately engaging in health-related safety behaviors (e.g., avoiding public contaminants) causes individuals to become more concerned with the risks of contamination (Deacon and Maack 2008;Olatunji et al 2011). Although these limitations somewhat qualify the generalizability of our findings, the present study offers data relevant to understanding the psychological predictors of anxious responding to publicized epidemics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Elevated levels of health anxiety may also be accompanied by safety behaviors performed to minimize the possibility or severity of illness (e.g., avoidance, excessive washing, or overutilization of medical resources), which may compound distress and functional impairment (e.g., Olatunji et al 2011). Accordingly, we designed the present study during the height of U.S. concerns about Ebola to better understand the psychological factors associated with Fearbola and engagement in Ebola-related safety behaviors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tracing “Fearbola”: Psychological Predictors of Anxious Responding to the Threat of Ebola

et al. 2015

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Serious illnesses such as Ebola are often highly publicized in the mass media and can be associated with varying levels of anxiety and compensatory safety behavior (e.g., avoidance of air travel). The present study investigated psychological processes associated with Ebola-related anxiety and safety behaviors during the outbreak in late 2014. Between October 30 and December 3, 2014, which encompassed the peak of concerns and of the media's attention to this particular outbreak, 107 university students completed a battery of measures assessing fear of Ebola, performance of safety behaviors, factual knowledge of the virus, and psychological variables hypothesized to predict Ebola-related fear. We found that while our sample was generally not very fearful of contracting Ebola, the fear of this disease was correlated with general distress, contamination cognitions, disgust sensitivity, body vigilance, and anxiety sensitivity-related physical concerns. Regression analyses further indicated that anxiety sensitivity related to physical concerns and the tendency to overestimate the severity of contamination were unique predictors of both Ebola fear and associated safety behaviors. Implications for how concerns over serious illness outbreaks can be conceptualized and clinically managed are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracing “Fearbola”: Psychological Predictors of Anxious Responding to the Threat of Ebola

et al. 2015

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“…These behaviors may include actions designed to detect a perceived threat, to prevent harm, attain certainty, and reduce anxiety. Thus, based on previous research (Fergus & Valentiner, 2011;Olatunji, Etzel, Tomarken, Ciesielski, & Deacon, 2011) it was expected that health anxiety would be related to engagement in safetyseeking behaviors. In this study, the relation between medical services utilization and safety-seeking behaviors was also explored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Role of Neuroticism and Insecure Attachment in Health Anxiety, Safety-Seeking Behavior Engagement, and Medical Services Utilization

Anagnostopoulos

Botse

2016

Sage Open

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The purpose of this study was to explore an extended interpersonal model of health anxiety, according to which healthanxious individuals are trapped in a vicious circle of health-related reassurance-seeking, alienation from others, and worry about health, while somatic absorption with body sensations, insecure attachment, neuroticism, safety-seeking behaviors, and medical services utilization were also included in the model. Data were collected from 196 Greek university students using standardized instruments. Results indicated that anxious attachment was directly related to absorption (β = .163, p < .05) and alienation (β = .204, p < .05), while avoidant attachment was directly related to absorption (β = −.344, p < .001), reassuranceseeking (β = −.130, p < .05), and alienation (β = .148, p < .05). Neuroticism was positively and significantly associated with all dimensions of health anxiety. Absorption, alienation, and anxious attachment were related to medical services utilization, which, in turn, was related to safety-seeking behaviors (β = .200, p < .01). Neuroticism and anxious attachment were also indirectly and positively associated with worry. Moreover, absorption was positively related to worry and reassuranceseeking, worry was positively related to reassurance-seeking, and alienation was positively related to worry. Study results highlight the key role that interpersonal (e.g., alienation from others) and perceptual factors (e.g., the tendency to focus on bodily sensations) can play in health anxiety maintenance, and the importance of anxious and avoidant attachment in safetyseeking behavior engagement. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research and practice are outlined.

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“…those requiring hospitalization), and therefore value the transmission of information to a greater extent. Consistent with this hypothesis, the literature has shown that anxious patients (including the so-called 'worried well') may seek communication more fervently than they seek technical quality [35,36]. In addition, perceived thoroughness of care may impact patient satisfaction to a lesser extent in the setting of specialty care because the additional training of such physicians may lead patients to assume excellent technical quality for the specialty-specific care being rendered.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

The Association between Patient-Centered Attributes of Care and Patient Satisfaction

Tak

Ruhnke

Shih

2014

Patient

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The effects of safety behaviors on health anxiety: An experimental investigation

Cited by 162 publications

References 50 publications

Tracing “Fearbola”: Psychological Predictors of Anxious Responding to the Threat of Ebola

Tracing “Fearbola”: Psychological Predictors of Anxious Responding to the Threat of Ebola

Exploring the Role of Neuroticism and Insecure Attachment in Health Anxiety, Safety-Seeking Behavior Engagement, and Medical Services Utilization

The Association between Patient-Centered Attributes of Care and Patient Satisfaction

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