Parental illness, attachment dimensions, and health beliefs: testing the cognitive-behavioural and interpersonal models of health anxiety
Abstract
The cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal models of health anxiety propose that parental illness could be a contributory factor to the development of health anxiety but through different mechanisms. The cognitive-behavioral model suggests that exposure to parental illness may lead to health beliefs that could increase health anxiety. In contrast, the interpersonal model proposes that parental illness may contribute to the development of an insecure attachment pattern and consequently health anxiety. To assess the additive value of the models, 116 emerging adults (i.e. aged 18-25) who had a parent diagnosed with a serious medical illness (e.g. cancer, multiple sclerosis) completed measures of health anxiety, adult attachment dimensions, and health beliefs. Attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, health beliefs, and death of the ill parent were statistically significant predictors of health anxiety. The results provide support for both models of health anxiety. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
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These dysfunctional beliefs are key vulnerability and maintaining factors in health anxiety, and are argued to develop in response to aversive learning experiences during childhood or later in life.
“These beliefs are key vulnerability and maintaining factors in health anxiety [42, 43], and are argued to develop in response to aversive learning experiences during childhood or later in life, such as the death or illness of an attachment figure [44].”
From Illness Anxiety Disorder: A Review of the Current Research and Future Directions (2024) · cites this paper as [44]
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- Authors
- Alberts, N. M., & Hadjistavropoulos, H. D.
- Affiliations
- University of Regina (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Hadjistavropoulos, Heather D.
- Venue
- Anxiety, Stress, & Coping
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2013-09-13
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 216-228
- ISSN
- 1061-5806 (ISSN-L)
- 1477-2205
- OpenAlex
- W1987703965
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3
- FWCI
- 4.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Anxiety Stress & Coping (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Keywords
- health anxiety, parental illness, adult attachment, attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, health beliefs, emerging adults, cognitive-behavioral model, interpersonal model, parental death
- MeSH terms
- Acute Disease, Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety, Attitude to Health, Canada, Chronic Disease, Cognition, Female, Health Status, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Models, Psychological, Object Attachment, Parents, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Behavior, Young Adult
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