Adverse childhood experiences in patients with severe health anxiety: No evidence for an increased frequency compared to patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder

Abstract

Theoretical models of health anxiety emphasize adverse childhood experiences in the development of the disorder, but few studies examine such events in patients with severe health anxiety and the results are difficult to compare across studies. The present study examined adult retrospective reports of illness‐related and traumatic childhood experiences in 31 patients with severe health anxiety, 32 non‐clinical control participants, and a clinical control group of 33 patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder. No evidence of an increased frequency of adverse childhood experiences in patients with severe health anxiety was found. However, patients with severe health anxiety who had experienced the death of a friend or family member or a major upheaval during childhood, perceived these events as having been more traumatic than the control participants. These findings suggest that biases in how adverse childhood experiences are interpreted or remembered might play a role in severe health anxiety. The findings are discussed in relation to the cognitive behavioral model of health anxiety, and some of the processes in interpretation and memory that could explain how adverse childhood experiences might play a role in the development and maintenance of severe health anxiety are outlined.

Effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Parenting Styles, and Family Accommodation on Patients Diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

“…Traumatic experiences in childhood will affect the child’s personality development and emotional regulatory ability and may lead to adverse cognitive patterns, resulting in excessive responsibility and perfectionism, difficulty coping with negative emotions and pressure, and unhealthy defense mechanisms to relieve anxiety or guilt with the help of compulsive behavior. 39 , 40 Many studies have shown that traumatic experiences in childhood damage individuals’ physical health and are closely related to adult mental disorders. 41 …”