Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Health Anxiety

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

  • 40 Accesses

Synonyms

Health phobia; Hypochondriasis

Definition

Health anxiety refers to an excessive concern or preoccupation about being ill based on the misinterpretation of somatic symptoms despite medical reassurance indicating otherwise.

Description

Health anxiety refers to an excessive concern or preoccupation about the meaning and potential consequences of somatic symptoms. Individuals high in health anxiety are more likely to believe that their physical symptoms are signs of a serious disease than their low anxious counterparts despite medical reassurance indicating otherwise.

Several environmental, biological, and psychological (e.g., behavioral and cognitive) factors have been implicated as causes of health anxiety (Abramowitz and Braddock 2008; Kirmayer and Looper 2006). Evidence from research examining the environmental antecedents of health anxiety indicate that individuals, especially females, who have experienced serious illness as children, suffered the death of a loved one from a...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 1,199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 1,599.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References and Further Reading

  • Abramowitz, J. S., & Braddock, A. E. (2008). Psychological treatment of health anxiety & hypochondriasis: A biopsychosocial approach. Cambridge, MA: Hogefe & Huber.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Asmundson, G. J. G., Taylor, S., & Cox, B. J. (2001). Health anxiety: Clinical perspectives on hypochondriasis and related conditions. West Sussex: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barsky, A. J., & Klerman, G. L. (1983). Overview: Hypochondriasis, bodily complaints, and somatic styles. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 273–281.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eilenberg, T., Kronstrand, L., Fink, P., & Frostholm, L. (2013). Acceptance and commitment group therapy for health anxiety–Results from a pilot study. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27(5), 461–468.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Faravelli, C., Salvatori, S., Galassi, F., Aiazzi, L., Drei, C., & Cabrasm, O. (1997). Epidemiology of somatoform disorders: A community survey in Florence. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 32, 24–29.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fink, P., Ørnbøl, E., & Christensen, K. S. (2010). The outcome of health anxiety in primary care. A two-year follow-up study on health care costs and self-rated health. PLoS One, 5(3), e9873. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0009873.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • First, M. B., Williams, J. B. W., Karg, R. S., & Spitzer, R. L. (2016). Structured clinical interview for DSM-5 disorders, clinician version (SCID-5-CV). Arlington: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, J. P., Barrios, V., & Acheson, D. T. (2007). Exposure therapy and cognitive interventions for the anxiety disorders: Overview and newer third-generation perspectives. In D. C. S. Richard & D. L. Lauterbach (Eds.), Handbook of exposure therapies. San Diego: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kellner, R. (1986). Somatization and hypochondriasis. New York: Praeger-Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kellner, R. (1987). Abridged manual of the illness attitude scales. Unpublished manual, Albuquerque: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirmayer, L. J., & Looper, K. J. (2006). Abnormal illness behaviour: Physiological, psychological and social dimensions of coping with distress. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 19(1), 54–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kirmayer, L. J., & Sartorius, N. (2007). Cultural models and somatic syndromes. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69(9), 832–840.6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kirmayer, L. J., Groleau, D., Looper, K. J., & Dao, M. D. (2004). Explaining medically unexplained symptoms. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 49(10), 663–672.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Looper, K. J., & Kirmayer, L. J. (2001). Hypochondriacal concerns in a community population. Psychological Medicine, 31(4), 577–584.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lucock, M. P., & Morley, S. (1996). The health anxiety questionnaire. British Journal of Health Psychology, 1, 137–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcus, D. K., Gurley, J. R., Marchi, M. M., & Bauer, C. (2007). Cognitive and perceptual variables in hypochondriasis and health anxiety: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 27(2), 127–139.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McManus, F., Surawy, C., Muse, K., Vazquez-Montes, M., & Williams, J. M. G. (2012). A randomized clinical trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy versus unrestricted services for health anxiety (hypochondriasis). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80(5), 817.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mineka, S., & Ben Hamida, S. (1998). Observational and nonconscious learning. In W. T. O’Donohue (Ed.), Learning and behavior therapy. Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olatunji, B. O., Kauffman, B. Y., Meltzer, S., Davis, M. L., Smits, J. A., & Powers, M. B. (2014). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for hypochondriasis/health anxiety: A meta-analysis of treatment outcome and moderators. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 58, 65–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pilowsky, I. (1967). Dimensions of hypochondriasis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 113, 89–93.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pilowsky, I., & Spence, N. D. (1994). Manual for the illness behavior questionnaire (3rd ed.). Unpublished manual, Adelaide: Department of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salkovskis, P. M., Rimes, K. A., Warwick, H. M., & Clark, D. M. (2002). The health anxiety inventory: Development and validation of scales for the measurement of health anxiety and hypochondriasis. Psychological Medicine, 32, 843–853.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, M. B., Lang, A. J., Laffaye, C., Satz, L. E., Lenox, R. J., & Dresselhaus, T. R. (2004). Relationship of sexual assault history to somatic symptoms and health anxiety in women. General Hospital Psychiatry, 26(3), 178–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2003.11.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sunderland, M., Newby, J. M., & Andrews, G. (2013). Health anxiety in Australia: Prevalence, comorbidity, disability and service use. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 202(1), 56–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Visser, S., & Bouman, T. K. (2001). The treatment of hypochondriasis: Exposure plus response prevention versus cognitive therapy. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 423–442.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Warwick, H. M., & Salkovskis, P. M. (1990). Hypochondriasis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28, 105–117.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weck, F., Richtberg, S., & MB Neng, J. (2014). Epidemiology of hypochondriasis and health anxiety: Comparison of different diagnostic criteria. Current Psychiatry Reviews, 10(1), 14–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA

    Tamer F. Desouky & Pablo A. Mora

  2. War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, Veterans Affairs NJ Healthcare System, East Orange, NJ, USA

    Lisa M. McAndrew

Authors
  1. Tamer F. Desouky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lisa M. McAndrew
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Pablo A. Mora
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tamer F. Desouky .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, USA

    Deborah J. Wiebe

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Desouky, T.F., McAndrew, L.M., Mora, P.A. (2020). Health Anxiety. In: Gellman, M.D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39903-0_958

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39903-0_958

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-39901-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-39903-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation