Department of Psychology, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada.
J Behav Med. 2012 Apr;35(2):167-78. doi: 10.1007/s10865-011-9339-3. Epub 2011 Apr 13.
The cognitive-behavioural model of health anxiety hypothesizes that the degree of health threat experienced by an individual is a function of the perceived: (1) likelihood of illness; (2) awfulness of illness; (3) difficulty coping with illness; and (4) inadequacy of medical services. While research has examined cognitions in health anxiety, it is not known whether these cognitions predict health anxiety in individuals who do or do not report medical conditions and whether these cognitions are uniquely related to health anxiety. After developing the Health Cognitions Questionnaire to assess these specific cognitions, we examined the extent to which the cognitions predicted health anxiety and poor response to reassurance in a healthy community sample (n = 273) and a sample who self-reported various medical conditions (n = 208). Supporting the cognitive-behavioural model, these cognitions predicted health anxiety and poor response to reassurance in both samples, with some differences observed between those who did or did not report medical conditions. The cognitions were uniquely related to health anxiety even after controlling for depression and general anxiety. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed. Overall, the Health Cognitions Questionnaire has potential to facilitate further research on the development, maintenance, and treatment of health anxiety.
健康焦虑的认知行为模型假设，个体所经历的健康威胁程度是以下因素的函数：（1）患病的可能性；（2）疾病的可怕程度；（3）应对疾病的难度；和（4）医疗服务的不足。虽然研究已经检查了健康焦虑中的认知，但尚不清楚这些认知是否可以预测报告或不报告医疗状况的个体的健康焦虑，以及这些认知是否与健康焦虑有独特的关系。在开发了用于评估这些特定认知的健康认知问卷后，我们研究了这些认知在健康社区样本（n=273）和自我报告各种医疗状况的样本（n=208）中预测健康焦虑和对保证的不良反应的程度。支持认知行为模型，这些认知在两个样本中都预测了健康焦虑和对保证的不良反应，在报告或不报告医疗状况的个体之间观察到了一些差异。即使在控制了抑郁和一般焦虑之后，这些认知仍然与健康焦虑有独特的关系。讨论了临床和理论意义。总体而言，健康认知问卷有可能促进对健康焦虑的发展、维持和治疗的进一步研究。
