Social Support Mediates the Association between Health Anxiety and Quality of Life: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Study.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(19)2022 Oct 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2066093
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to test if perceived social support and cyberchondria mediate the association between health anxiety and quality of life (QoL) in a nonclinical sample. Cross-sectional research involved adult internet users (n = 538) between 16 May 2020 and 29 December 2020 in Poland who completed self-report questionnaires, including the cyberchondria severity scale (CSS-PL), the short health anxiety inventory (SHAI), the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS) and the quality of life scale (QOLS). A mediation analysis was performed to examine the direct effects of health anxiety on cyberchondria, perceived social support and quality of life. Likewise, the effects of cyberchondria and perceived social support on QoL were analyzed. Hence, indirect effects of health anxiety on QoL through cyberchondria and perceived social support were explored. Health anxiety significantly impaired QoL both directly and indirectly through low-perceived social support. Perceived social support partly mediated the association between health anxiety and QoL. Cyberchondria did not have a significant direct effect on the latter. Thus, cyberchondria did not mediate the relationship between health anxiety and QoL. Boosting-perceived social support may mitigate the detrimental effect of health anxiety on QoL. Cyberchondria was not found to have a significant effect on QoL in contrast to health anxiety alone.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Anxiety Disorders
/
Quality of Life
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph191912962
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