Hypochondriacal concerns, somatosensory amplification, and primary and secondary cognitive appraisals

Abstract

This paper uses data from four studies (N = 150, 150, 154 and 79) to examine the associations between hypochondriacal concerns (HCs) and stress appraisals (primary and secondary). A search activity account of HCs suggests that increased levels of HCs should be associated with positive appraisals of a stressful situation (i.e., increased levels of perceived challenge and perceived control). However, the results indicated that in terms of primary appraisals, increased perceptions of threat and not challenge were consistently associated with increased levels of HCs. Further, the results indicated that the association between threat and HCs is mediated by somatosensory amplification. Consistent with the search activity account it is shown that increased levels of perceived control (secondary appraisals) are associated with increased levels of HCs. The association for perceived control remains once variance due to somatosensory amplification is partialled and generalizes to a sample of patients with a sexually transmitted infection. The results are interpreted in relation to the transactional model of the stress process.

Relationship Between Hypochondriacal Concerns and Personality Dimensions and Traits in a Military Population

“…Negative temperament refers to a tendency to experience negative emotions and overreact to stress (Watson and Clark, 1984). Persons with this temperament are prone to find bodily sensations noxious and interpret them as signs of serious illness (Barsky, 2001;Ferguson et al, 2000). Negative temperament may represent a traitlike vulnerability to hypochondriasis (Goldberg, 2001;Vollrath, 2001).…”

Personality is of central concern to understand health: towards a theoretical model for health psychology

“…At Level 1, HA is linked to increased incidence of functional somatic syndromes (FSS) and nonspecific symptom reporting (Ferguson, 1998, 2004a, 2004b; Gou, Kuroki, & Koizumi, 2001; Noyes et al, 1999, 2005). HA is also linked to ‘poorer’ stress and coping responses (Ferguson, 2001; Ferguson, Swairbrick, Clare, Bignell, & Anderson, 2000b; Katerngahl, 1999), unrealistic health beliefs (Barsky, Coeytaux, Sarnie, & Clearly, 1993; Barsky et al, 2001), a focus on health goals (Karoly & Lecci, 1993), altered physiological responses (e.g., steeper diurnal cortisol slope; Ferguson, 2008), and reduced pain thresholds (see Gramling, Clawson, & McDonald, 1996). …”

Reexamining the domain of hypochondriasis: Comparing the Illness Attitudes Scale to other approaches

“…Although it remains important to study those with clinically significant HC, studies with non-clinical samples are also important (Ferguson, 1996;Ferguson et al, 2000;Hitchcock & Mathews, 1992;Marcus, 1999;Owens, Asmundson, Hadjistavropoulos, & Owens, 2004;Rief, Hiller, & Margraf, 1998). The need for and appropriateness of using non-clinical samples when investigating HC is supported by research suggesting the disorder functions along a continuum (Costa & McCrae, 1985;Salkovskis & Warwick, 2001) in which the content of non-clinical and clinical HC concerns strongly parallel one another (see Marcus, Gurley, Marchi, & Bauer, 2007).…”