Cited by 112Health Literacy and Information AccessibilityImpact of Technology on AdolescentsPsychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 26 of the 26 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Problematic Internet Use and Internet Searches for Medical Information: The Role of Health Anxiety

Fergus, Thomas A., Dolan, Sara L.·2014·Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking

DOI 10.1089/cyber.2014.0169

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Individuals frequently use the Internet to search for medical information. For some individuals, repeated searches for medical information on the Internet exacerbate health anxiety. Researchers have termed this phenomenon "cyberchondria" and have suggested that cyberchondria might relate to the excessive use of the Internet for other purposes as well. The present study examined associations among Internet searches for medical information, health anxiety, and problematic Internet use (PIU) using a large sample of medically healthy community adults located in the United States (N=430). As predicted, respondents who experienced increased health anxiety following Internet searches for medical information reported significantly greater PIU than respondents for whom such searches either had no impact on or decreased their health anxiety. This effect was not attributable to the frequency of health-related online searching behavior or negative affect. Conceptual and therapeutic implications are discussed.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1089/cyber.2014.0169

Cites

26 of 26 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063 · Cited by 32,433
Amazon's Mechanical Turk: A New Source of Inexpensive, Yet High-Quality, Data?
Buhrmester, M., Kwang, T., & Gosling, S. D. (2011) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691610393980 · Cited by 9,996
Overall job satisfaction: How good are single-item measures?
Wanous, J. P., Reichers, A. E., & Hudy, M. J. (1997) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.82.2.247 · Cited by 3,479
A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use
Davis, R. A. (2001) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0747-5632(00)00041-8 · Cited by 3,010
Reputation as a sufficient condition for data quality on Amazon Mechanical Turk
Peer, E., Vosgerau, J., & Acquisti, A. (2014) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/s13428-013-0434-y · Cited by 1,618
Using Mechanical Turk to Study Clinical Populations
Shapiro, D. N., Chandler, J., & Mueller, P. A. (2013) · Clinical Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/2167702612469015 · Cited by 1,139
The compulsive internet use scale (CIUS): some psychometric properties
Meerkerk, G.-J., Van Den Eijnden, R. J. J. M., Vermulst, A. A., & Garretsen, H. F. L. (2009) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/cpb.2008.0181 · Cited by 989
An overview of problematic Internet use
Spada, M. M. (2013) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.09.007 · Cited by 830
Problematic internet use: Proposed classification and diagnostic criteria
Shapira, N. A., Lessig, M. C., Goldsmith, T. D., Szabo, S. T., Lazoritz, M., Gold, M. S., & Stein, D. J. (2003) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1002/da.10094 · Cited by 771
Cognitive Behavior Therapy with Internet Addicts: Treatment Outcomes and Implications
Young, K. S. (2007) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/cpb.2007.9971 · Cited by 668

Show all 26 references

Research works printed but not linked: 3

Peer E, 2014, Behavior Research Methods
10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063 · DOI · Paper page
Alberts NM, 2014, Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapy

Sorted by citations

The relationships between health anxiety, online health information seeking, and cyberchondria: systematic review and meta-analysis
McMullan, R. D., Berle, D., Arnáez, S., & Starcevic, V. (2019) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.037 · Cited by 436
“Finally, while cyberchondria is defined as involving heightened health anxiety or distress, it may be important to investigate the relationship between health anxiety and cyberchondria without the distress items of the CSS due to possible item overlap (e.g., Fergus, 2014).”
Background
Is cyberchondria a new transdiagnostic digital compulsive syndrome? A systematic review of the evidence
Vismara, M., Caricasole, V., Starcevic, V., Cinosi, E., Dell'Osso, B., Martinotti, G., & Fineberg, N. A. (2020) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2020.152167 · Cited by 224
Recent Insights Into Cyberchondria
Starčević, V., Berle, D., & Arnáez, S. (2020) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-020-01179-8 · Cited by 220
The CSS-12: development and validation of a short-form version of the cyberchondria severity scale
McElroy, E., Kearney, M., Touhey, J., Evans, J., Cooke, Y., & Shevlin, M. (2019) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2018.0624 · Cited by 179
“43,44 This overlap, however, remains poorly understood.”
Cyberchondria: examining relations with problematic internet use and metacognitive beliefs
Fergus, T. A., & Spada, M. M. (2017) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.2102 · Cited by 162
“Fergus and Dolan (2014) described the conceptual overlap between cyberchondria and PIU, as both constructs reflect an inability to control Internet use, with this lack of control leading to negative consequences.”
Background
Exploring the Experience of Self-Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Adults
Lewis, L. F. (2016) · Archives of Psychiatric Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2016.03.009 · Cited by 155
“Thus, member-checking, audit trails, and “thick description,” in which the researcher provides rich quotes and detailed description of data, were used to ensure trustworthiness (Geertz, 1973; Lincoln & Guba, 1985).”
Method
Online health research and health anxiety: A systematic review and conceptual integration.
Brown, R. J., Skelly, N., & Chew-Graham, C. A. (2020) · Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice · doi:10.1111/cpsp.12299 · Cited by 140
Cyberchondria and its Relationships with Related Constructs: a Network Analysis
Starcevic, V., Baggio, S., Berle, D., Khazaal, Y., & Viswasam, K. (2019) · Psychiatric Quarterly · doi:10.1007/s11126-019-09640-5 · Cited by 135
Self-esteem and cyberchondria: The mediation effects of health anxiety and obsessive–compulsive symptoms in a community sample
Bajcar, B., & Babiak, J. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-019-00216-x · Cited by 109
Illness Anxiety Disorder: Psychopathology, Epidemiology, Clinical Characteristics, and Treatment.
Scarella, T. M., Boland, R. J., & Barsky, A. J. (2019) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000000691 · Cited by 102
Compulsive Health-Related Internet Use and Cyberchondria
Khazaal, Y., Chatton, A., Rochat, L., Hede, V., Viswasam, K., Penzenstadler, L. E., Berle, D., & Starčević, V. (2020) · European Addiction Research · doi:10.1159/000510922 · Cited by 104
Conceptualizations of cyberchondria and relations to the anxiety spectrum: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Schenkel, S. K., Jungmann, S. M., Gropalis, M., & Witthöft, M. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/27835 · Cited by 87
“In addition, cognitive-behavioral treatments for problematic internet use may also be used to treat cyberchondria [30].”
BackgroundInfluential
Cyberchondria: a systematic review
Zheng, H., Sin, S. J., Kim, H. K., & Theng, Y. (2020) · Internet Research · doi:10.1108/intr-03-2020-0148 · Cited by 83
Controversies and challenges in fibromyalgia: a review and a proposal
Cohen, H. (2017) · Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease · doi:10.1177/1759720x17699199 · Cited by 70
Testing the spectrum hypothesis of problematic online behaviors: A network analysis approach
Baggio, S., Starčević, V., Billieux, J., King, D. L., Gainsbury, S., Eslick, G. D., & Berle, D. (2022) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107451 · Cited by 71
“Yet, cyberchondria was reported to have a close relationship with problematic Internet use (Fergus & Dolan, 2014; Fergus & Spada, 2017; Starcevic, Baggio, Berle, Khazaal, & Viswasam, 2019), whereby online health searches continue despite the distress caused by this activity (Khazaal et al., 2021)…”
Background
The cyberchondria severity scale (CSS): validity and reliability study of the Turkish version
Selvi, Y., Gokce Turan, S., Asena Sayin, A., Boysan, M., & Kandeger, A. (2018) · Sleep and Hypnosis - International Journal · doi:10.5350/sleep.hypn.2018.20.0157 · Cited by 59
“In addition, these studies have shown that anxiety sensitivity, health anxiety and problematic internet use are risk factors for ciberchondria (Fergus & Dolan, 2014; Fergus & Spada, 2017).”
Background
Neuroticism and cyberchondria: The mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty and defensive pessimism
Bajcar, B., & Babiak, J. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110006 · Cited by 65
Cyberchondria: conceptual relation with health anxiety, assessment, management and prevention
Menon, V., Kar, S. K., Tripathi, A., Nebhinani, N., & Varadharajan, N. (2020) · Asian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102225 · Cited by 51
Online resources and apps to aid self-diagnosis and help seeking in the perinatal period: A descriptive survey of women's experiences
Mackintosh, N., Agarwal, S., Adcock, K., Armstrong, N., Briley, A., Patterson, M., Sandall, J., & (Sarah) Gong, Q. (2020) · Midwifery · doi:10.1016/j.midw.2020.102803 · Cited by 45
“Dr. Google” and his predecessors
Jutel, A. (2017) · Diagnosis · doi:10.1515/dx-2016-0045 · Cited by 45
Examination of the relationship between smartphone addiction and cyberchondria in adolescents
Köse, S., & Murat, M. (2021) · Archives of Psychiatric Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2021.08.009 · Cited by 44
The Moderating Role of Health Literacy and Health Promoting Behavior in the Relationship Among Health Anxiety, Emotional Regulation, and Cyberchondria
Fang, S., & Mushtaque, I. (2024) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s446448 · Cited by 54
“18,19 Thinking and feeling in a certain way are associated with unpleasant emotional states such as fear and worry.”
Background
How online searches fuel health anxiety: Investigating the link between health-related searches, health anxiety, and future intention
Peng, R. X. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2022.107384 · Cited by 45
The Status and Influencing Factors of Cyberchondria During the COVID-19 Epidemic. A Cross-Sectional Study in Nanyang City of China
Peng, X., Chen, Y., Zhang, Y., Liu, F., He, H., Luo, T., Dai, P., Xie, W., & Luo, A. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.712703 · Cited by 43
“A group of studies (Baumgartner and Hartmann, 2011; Muse et al., 2012; Fergus, 2013; Fergus and Dolan, 2014; Doherty-Torstrick et al., 2016; McMullan et al., 2019; Vismara et al., 2020) found that there is a moderate to strong relationship between health anxiety and cyberchondria.”
Background
Cyberchondria, Anxiety Sensitivity, Hypochondria, and Internet Addiction: Implications for Mental Health Professionals
Khait, A. F. A., MRAYYAN, M. T., Al-Rjoub, S. F., Rababa, M., & Al-Rawashdeh, S. Y. (2022) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-022-03815-3 · Cited by 44
Psychological distress in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: the joint contribution of intolerance of uncertainty and cyberchondria
Bottesi, G., Marino, C., Vieno, A., Ghisi, M., & Spada, M. M. (2021) · Psychology and Health · doi:10.1080/08870446.2021.1952584 · Cited by 36
“However, in the current study, PIU refers to a generalized problematic pattern of Internet use, whereas cyberchondria specifically refers to health-related online searches and can be considered a specific sub-type of PIU (e.g., Fergus & Dolan, 2014).”
Background
Design for mobile mental health: an exploratory review
Aryana, B., Brewster, L., & Abdelnour-Nocera, J. (2018) · Health and Technology · doi:10.1007/s12553-018-0271-1 · Cited by 36
Cyberchondria: a Growing Concern During the COVID-19 Pandemic and a Possible Addictive Disorder?
Mestre‐Bach, G., & Potenza, M. N. (2023) · Current Addiction Reports · doi:10.1007/s40429-022-00462-3 · Cited by 46
A preliminary investigation of Cyberchondria and its correlates in a clinical sample of patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder, anxiety and depressive disorders attending a tertiary psychiatric clinic
Vismara, M. E. M., Benatti, B., Ferrara, L., Colombo, A., Bosi, M. F., Varinelli, A., Pellegrini, L., Viganò, C. A., Fineberg, N. A., & Dell’Osso, B. M. (2021) · International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice · doi:10.1080/13651501.2021.1927107 · Cited by 29
“Moreover, CYB has been previously linked to PUI (although this association was not confirmed in the present study) (Fergus and Dolan 2014; Fergus and Spada 2017), that has been, in turn, associated also with MDD and ADs (Shapira et al. 2000; Spada 2014).”
Result
The paradox of convenience: how information overload in mHealth apps leads to medical service overuse
Zhong, L., Cao, J., & Xue, F. (2024) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1408998 · Cited by 29
The Type of Daily Life Stressors Associated with Social Media Use in Adolescents with Problematic Internet/Smartphone Use
Seo, J.-Y., Lee, C.-S., Lee, Y.-J., Bhang, S., & Lee, D. (2021) · Psychiatry Investigation · doi:10.30773/pi.2020.0060 · Cited by 28
Abnormal illness behavior and Internet addiction severity: The role of disease conviction, irritability, and alexithymia
Scimeca, G., Bruno, A., Crucitti, M., Conti, C., Quattrone, D., Pandolfo, G., Zoccali, R. A., & Muscatello, M. R. A. (2016) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.6.2017.008 · Cited by 25
The Doctor Is In(ternet): The Mediating Role of Health Anxiety in the Relationship between Somatic Symptoms and Cyberchondria
Santoro, G., Starčević, V., Scalone, A., Cavallo, J., Musetti, A., & Schimmenti, A. (2022) · Journal of Personalized Medicine · doi:10.3390/jpm12091490 · Cited by 26
Scoliosis and the Social Media: Facebook as a Means of Information Exchange
Ng, J. P., Tarazi, N., Byrne, D. P., Baker, J. F., & McCabe, J. P. (2017) · Spine Deformity · doi:10.1016/j.jspd.2016.11.003 · Cited by 25
Most orthopaedic trauma patients are using the internet, but do you know where they're going?
Hautala, G. S., Comadoll, S. M., Raffetto, M. L., Ducas, G. W., Jacobs, C. A., Aneja, A., & Matuszewski, P. E. (2021) · Injury · doi:10.1016/j.injury.2021.02.029 · Cited by 25
The exclusive language of science? Comparing knowledge gains and motivation in English-bilingual biology lessons between non-selected and preselected classes
Meyerhöffer, N., & Dreesmann, D. (2018) · International Journal of Science Education · doi:10.1080/09500693.2018.1529446 · Cited by 24
“Also, the extent of English-language sources on science-related topics such as health, nutrition, and life style (Fergus & Dolan, 2014; Zschorlich et al., 2014) is so large and dynamic that it is next to impossible to rely on translated content alone.”
Background
The pathways from distress tolerance to Cyberchondria: A multiple-group path model of young and middle adulthood samples
Batıgün, A. D., Ertürk, İ. Ş., Gör, N., & Akik, B. K. (2020) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-020-01038-y · Cited by 24
“Furthermore, given its association with distress and potential economic costs (Fergus 2014), identifying variables related to cyberchondria could be crucial for developing interventions and prevention strategies to address cyberchondria and factors that predispose to cyberchondria.”
Background
Design for mobile mental health: Exploring the informed participation approach
Aryana, B., & Brewster, L. (2019) · Health Informatics Journal · doi:10.1177/1460458219873540 · Cited by 22
Cognitive fusion potentiates the effect of maladaptive posttraumatic cognitions on posttraumatic stress symptoms
Benfer, N., Rogers, T. A., & Bardeen, J. R. (2020) · Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science · doi:10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.06.003 · Cited by 21
Does cyberchondria predict Internet addiction among students during the COVID‐19 pandemic? A web‐based survey study
MRAYYAN, M. T., AL-Atiyyat, N. M., Khait, A. F. A., Al-Rawashdeh, S. Y., Algunmeeyn, A., & Abunab, H. Y. (2022) · Nursing Forum · doi:10.1111/nuf.12682 · Cited by 21
Soziologie des Digitalen - Digitale Soziologie?
(2020) · Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG eBooks · doi:10.5771/9783845295008 · Cited by 19
Suffering from problematic smartphone use? Why not use grayscale setting as an intervention! – An experimental study
Wickord, L.-C., & Quaiser-Pohl, C. M. (2023) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2023.100294 · Cited by 22
Exploring developmental trajectory of cyberchondria over time: A three-wave panel study
Zheng, H., Kim, H. K., Sin, S. J., & Theng, Y. (2022) · Telematics and Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.tele.2022.101892 · Cited by 18
Exploring the impact of Internet and media sources exposure on self-care behavior: mediating the role of health anxiety, literacy and information-seeking behavior
Soroya, S. H., Rehman, A. U., & Faiola, A. J. (2023) · Kybernetes · doi:10.1108/k-06-2023-1003 · Cited by 21
The Concept of Health Anxiety
Asmundson, G. J. G., & Fergus, T. A. (2019) · The Clinician's Guide to Treating Health Anxiety · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-811806-1.00001-9 · Cited by 21
A network analysis of two conceptual approaches to the etiology of PTSD
Benfer, N., Bardeen, J. R., Spitzer, E. G., & Rogers, T. A. (2021) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102479 · Cited by 16
Prediction of health information-seeking behavior components based on health anxiety among users of public libraries
Musarezaie, N., Samouei, R., Shahrzadi, L., & Ashrafi‐rizi, H. (2019) · Journal of Education and Health Promotion · doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_262_19 · Cited by 17
“The findings of this study were consistent with the studies by Fergus and Dolan,[31] Eastin and Guinsler,[16] Baumgartner and Hartmann,[18] Tanis et al,[21] te Poel et al.,[15] Singh and Brown,[19] White and Horvitz,[32] Kim and Lee,[33] Fink et al.,[34] and Doherty‑Torstrick et al.[35] on the direct relationship betw…”
ResultInfluential
Die Rolle des Internets für Gesundheitsinformationen in der Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde
Ihler, F., & Canis, M. (2019) · Laryngo-Rhino-Otologie · doi:10.1055/a-0801-2585 · Cited by 17
“There is a relationship between extensive internet use and health-related anxiety resulting from consultations of the internet with regard to health questions [203].”
Background
Internet an Integral Part of Human Life in 21st Century: A Review
Joshi, R., Pavithra, N., & Singh, C. K. (2022) · Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology · doi:10.9734/cjast/2022/v41i363963 · Cited by 28
“, health anxiety and cyberchondria [10,11,12,13], cervical pain, anxiety, stress, addiction, insomnia, neck complaints, strained vision, eating disorders and obesity.”
Background
More is better? Understanding the effects of online interactions on patients health anxiety
Deng, Z., Deng, Z., Fan, G., Wang, B., Fan, W., & Liu, S. (2023) · Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology · doi:10.1002/asi.24822 · Cited by 19
“At the same time, online health platforms should also establish a good guidance mechanism to encourage patients to use the platform in a correct and orderly manner to obtain health information, and avoid health anxiety caused by improper use of the platform (Fergus & Dolan, 2014).”
Background
Social inequality and the digital transformation of Western society: what can stratification research and digital divide studies learn from each other?
Matzat, U., & van Ingen, E. J. (2020) · Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG eBooks · doi:10.5771/9783845295008-379 · Cited by 21
“Researchers have also reported negative effects of searching for online health information on health – like increased health anxiety and “cyberchondria” (Fergus & Dolan 2014) – but those seem relatively rare.”
Background
The relative contribution of health cognitions and metacognitions about health anxiety to cyberchondria: A prospective study
Airoldi, S., Kolubinski, D. C., Nikčević, A. V., & Spada, M. M. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.23252 · Cited by 14
Investigating the Obsessive and Compulsive Features of Cyberchondria: A Holistic Review
Yang, Y., Ta, N., & Li, Z. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.897426 · Cited by 22
Exploring how health-related advertising interference contributes to the development of cyberchondria: A stressor–strain–outcome approach
Zhang, X., Zheng, H., Zeng, Y., Zou, J., & Lin, Z. (2024) · Digital Health · doi:10.1177/20552076241233138 · Cited by 14
“6 7 – 9 As our society becomes increasingly inundated with digital information and more people become proactive about managing their health online, cyberchondria emerges as a prevalent and concerning behavioral pattern.”
Background
Relationships between fear of COVID ‐19, cyberchondria, intolerance of uncertainty, and obsessional probabilistic inferences: A structural equation model
Boysan, M., Eşkısu, M., & Çam, Z. (2022) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12822 · Cited by 13
Cyberchondria: Implications of online behavior and health anxiety as determinants
Zeine, R. R., Mohammed, D., Wilcox, S., Renee, C., Janke, C., Jarrett, N., Evangelopoulos, A., Serrano, C., Tabassum, N., Turner, N., et al. (2019) · Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences · doi:10.4103/amhs.amhs_108_19 · Cited by 13
“[10] Anxiety is a common consequence of searching the internet for a self-diagnosis, as 38% of individuals who search the internet for medical information experience an escalation in anxiety.[11] One study showed that females had a higher rate of health-related anxiety and metaworry which was defined as “worrying abou…”
Background
Information Management in New Motherhood
Barkin, J. L., & Jani, S. (2016) · Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association · doi:10.1177/1078390316659697 · Cited by 13
“Fergus and Dolan (2014) discuss the term “cyberchondria,” which refers to the escalation of health anxiety prompted by Internet searching. In their study, problematic, or excessive, Internet use was associated with significantly greater health anxiety. Lee and Stapinski (2012) assert that individuals with existing soc…”
BackgroundResultInfluential
Adapting dialectical behavior therapy for treating problematic interactive media use
PLUHAR, E., JHE, G., TSAPPIS, M., BICKHAM, D., & RICH, M. (2020) · Journal of Psychiatric Practice · doi:10.1097/pra.0000000000000439 · Cited by 10
Cyberchondria, cyberhoarding, and other compulsive online disorders
Vismara, M. E. M., Caricasole, V., Varinelli, A., & Fineberg, N. A. (2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-822201-0.00001-0 · Cited by 13
Siberkondri Ciddiyet Ölçeği’nin Kısa Formunun Türkçeye Uyarlanması ve Öğretmen Adaylarının Aşırı Çevrim İçi Bilgi Arama Davranışları
Tuğtekin, U., & Tuğtekin, E. B. (2021) · Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi · doi:10.18506/anemon.963253 · Cited by 10
Research and Evaluation of a Cyberchondria Severity Scale in a Chinese Context
Wang, D., Sun, L., Shao, Y., Zhang, X., Maguire, P., & Hu, Y. (2023) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s431470 · Cited by 11
Somatoforme Störungen – somatoforme Belastungsstörung und verwandte Störungen
Kapfhammer, H. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-49295-6_74 · Cited by 8
Problematic and compulsive online health research: The two faces of cyberchondria.
Starčević, V. (2020) · Clinical Psychology Science and Practice · doi:10.1111/cpsp.12320 · Cited by 8
Transitioning into a digital world: Time for providers to recommend internet health information?
Iacovetto, M. C., & Allen, L. A. (2015) · American Heart Journal · doi:10.1016/j.ahj.2015.04.002 · Cited by 8
“Increased anxiety secondary to health information seeking has been a prominent concern, which has been at least partially validated by recent studies.(5,6) In this issue of the Journal, Minto et al(7) assessed Internet use and its association with anxiety in patients with or at risk for cardiomyopathy.”
Background
#TreatmentResistantDepression: A qualitative content analysis of Tweets about difficult‐to‐treat depression
Talbot, A., Ford, T., Ryan, S., Mahtani, K. R., & Albury, C. (2023) · Health Expectations · doi:10.1111/hex.13807 · Cited by 7
“However, self‐diagnosis can also be dangerous because of the associations between self‐ diagnosis and medical misinformation, health anxiety and misdiagnoses.(51) This self‐diagnosis, if accepted by clinicians, could escalate into more serious, incorrect and intensive treatments like ketamine which can be costly to th…”
Background
The Attitudes of Egyptian Web-Based Health Information Seekers Toward Health Information Provided Through the Internet: Qualitative Study
Ghweeba, M., Lindenmeyer, A., Shishi, S., Waheed, A., Kofi, M. A., & Amer, S. A. A. M. (2021) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/30108 · Cited by 6
“In contrast, Fergus et al [22] found that repeated searches for health information on the internet could exacerbate health anxiety for some users, especially in the absence of physicians’ guidance.”
Background
Psychometric Properties of Iranian Version of the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (Short-Form of CSS)
Foroughi, A., Taheri, A. A., Khanjani, S., Mohammadpour, M., Amiri, S., Parvizifard, A. A., & McElroy, E. (2022) · Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet · doi:10.1080/15398285.2022.2045668 · Cited by 6
A national survey of pandemic fear and cyberchondria after ending zero-COVID policy: The chain mediating role of alexithymia and psychological distress
Fang, J., Qiu, C., Sun, Z., Zhou, J., He, P., Conti, A. A., Lu, Y., Huang, X., Xu, J., & Tang, W. (2024) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2024.152505 · Cited by 5
Personality Pathology and Functional Impairment in Patients With Hypochondriasis
Bach, B., Skjernov, M., & Simonsen, E. H. (2022) · Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaclp.2022.08.001 · Cited by 7
A prospective examination of the role of psychological (in)flexibility in posttraumatic stress: A cross-lagged panel design
Gorday, J. Y., Bardeen, J. R., Rogers, T. A., & Benfer, N. (2023) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102725 · Cited by 5
Does the Quality and Readability of Information Related to Varicocele Obtained from ChatGPT 4.0 Remain Consistent Across Different Models of Inquiry?
Luo, Z., Kam, S. C., Kim, J. Y., Hu, W., Lin, C., Park, H. J., & Shin, Y. S. (2025) · The World Journal of Men s Health · doi:10.5534/wjmh.240331 · Cited by 3
“Given the diversity of educational backgrounds and medical knowledge bases among varicocele patients, the high reading difficulty may impede comprehension of the generated content, potentially exacerbating concerns about the disease [42,43].”
Dijital Dünyada Hastalık Korkusu: Siberkondri ve Sosyal Medya Bağımlılığı ile İlişkisi
Akyol, E. Y., YALÇIN, H., & Ünal, İ. N. (2024) · Humanistic Perspective · doi:10.47793/hp.1410389 · Cited by 3
Cyberchondria and Information Seeking Behavior: A Bibliometric Analysis
Burtis, A. T., & Howell, S. M. (2023) · Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet · doi:10.1080/15398285.2023.2266541 · Cited by 2
Generalized anxiety disorder and social media addiction relationships: The role of psychological resilience, doomscrolling and cyberchondria severity
Kurtça, T. T. (2025) · Psihologija · doi:10.2298/psi230921004t · Cited by 2
Bullying Victimization and Problematic Internet Use Among Adolescents: The Role of Relative Deprivation and Anxiety
Chang, L., Xu, J., Zhao, Y., & Zhang, H. (2025) · The Journal of Genetic Psychology · doi:10.1080/00221325.2025.2496800 · Cited by 2
“These individuals may also develop the tendency of excessively search the internet for health-related advice, information, and support (i.e. cyber-chondria), which can further elevate the possibility of problematic internet behaviors (Fergus & Dolan, 2014).”
Role of Problematic Internet Use and Cognitive Overload in Cyberchondria among Adult IT Professionals
Sen, M. (2023) · Asian Journal of Advanced Research and Reports · doi:10.9734/ajarr/2023/v17i9523 · Cited by 3
Cyberchondria and health: Exploring the linkages
Varma, R., & Singh, T. (2023) · Mind and Society · doi:10.56011/mind-mri-122-20233 · Cited by 4
“As a consequence of this, those who have low self-esteem are at a greater risk of developing cyberchondria, a specific form of PIU that manifests itself in an impaired ability to exercise self-control over Internet use (Fergus & Dolan, 2014).”
Background
Students' Experiences of Seeking Web-Based Animal Health Information at the Ontario Veterinary College: Exploratory Qualitative Study
Lai, N., Khosa, D. K., Jones‐Bitton, A., & Dewey, C. E. (2019) · JMIR Medical Education · doi:10.2196/13795 · Cited by 2
“For example, information seekers with HIO may develop a long-term unwillingness to seek information online, feel reluctant to further develop Web-based information search skills [23], or develop psychological effects such as anxiety [24,25].”
Background
Medical Skepticism in the Digital Age: An Experimental Study on Digital Health Literacy
Paino, M., Claggett, J. L., & Kitchens, B. (2025) · Sociological Inquiry · doi:10.1111/soin.70030 · Cited by 1
Clinical Digital Health Engagement and Psychological Distress Among Adults
Onal, C., & Onal, S. O. (2026) · JAMA Network Open · doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.23440 · Cited by 1
The Role of Metacognitive Beliefs and the Cognitive Attentional Syndrome in the Development of Anxiety: A Cross-lagged Panel Design
Gorday, J. Y., & Bardeen, J. R. (2026) · Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment · doi:10.1007/s10862-026-10309-0 · Cited by 1
“Upon completion of each assessment session, participants were debriefed and provided with financial compensation that was consistent with previous studies of similar length (e.g., Fergus & Dolan, 2014; Michel et al., 2018).”
Factors Associated With Health Perception and Psychological Well-Being Among Third-Age University Students: Cross-Sectional Study on the Role of Cyberchondria
Gündoğdu, S., Özgür, Ö., Kilavuz, A., & Tufan, İ. (2026) · JMIR Human Factors · doi:10.2196/83371 · Cited by 1
“Every ambiguous test result or clinical nuance, in turn, sparks further online cross-referencing, reinforcing the cyberchon-dria cycle and severely deteriorating both their psychological well-being and their trust in health care systems [26].”
Quality of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Information on the Chinese Internet: Website Evaluation Study
Wang, Q., Liu, L., Li, H., Zhang, Q., & Ma, Q. (2024) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/56594 · Cited by 1
“One study found that 41.8% of patients with chronic diseases would use the internet to search for disease-related knowledge [19], but concerns about the quality of website health information often have a negative impact on patients’search behavior [20,21].”
BackgroundInfluential
AGING IN THE DIGITAL ERA: ANALYSING THE MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS OF INTERNET USE AMONG GERIATRICS – A NARRATIVE REVIEW
Gaikwad, A., Mathur, A. S., Mehta, V., Tripathy, S., & Thomas, V. (2024) · Eastern Ukrainian Medical Journal · doi:10.21272/eumj.2024;12(3):721-729 · Cited by 1
Potential Reinforcement of Health Misconceptions in YouTube Videos: Example of Elbow Enthesopathy (Tennis Elbow)
Zaidi, Z., Goyal, R., Ring, D., & Fatehi, A. (2024) · Quality Management in Health Care · doi:10.1097/qmh.0000000000000478 · Cited by 1
“26 , 27 The observation that technique videos were associated with a lower potential to reinforce misconceptions, compared to educational videos, and the observation that there was little difference in Potential Reinforcement of Misconceptions scores for videos with physician and nonphysician…”
Cyberchondria in the Age of Online Health Information
Amini, M., & Ahadzadeh, A. S. (2025) · Advances in computational intelligence and robotics book series · doi:10.4018/979-8-3693-5837-5.ch007 · Cited by 2
Ubiquity of cyberchondria among Teachers: the case of basic and higher education institution (HEI) Teachers in Southern Philippines
Roble, D. B., Lomibao, L. S., & Maglipong, M. V. J. V. (2021) · Revista Tempos e Espaços em Educação · doi:10.20952/revtee.v14i33.16066 · Cited by 1
“In the U.S. of America (USA), Fergus & Dolan (2014) examined associations among Internet searches for medical information, health anxiety, and problematic Internet use (PIU) among 430 medically healthy community adults.”
Background
Cognitive Behavioral Perspective on the Conceptualization and Treatment of Cyberchondria
Tekdemir, R., Kandeğer, A., & Selvı, Y. (2021) · Advances in media, entertainment and the arts (AMEA) book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-8630-3.ch007 · Cited by 1
Somatoforme Störungen – somatoforme Belastungsstörung und verwandte Störungen
Kapfhammer, H. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-45028-0_74-1 · Cited by 2
The Psychometric Properties of the Addiction to Medical Website Scale (AMWS)
Hamid, M. S., Hamza, E. A., & Mohamed, N. I. A. (2021) · Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research · doi:10.51758/agjsr-s1-2021-0005 · Cited by 1
“…of studies have diagnosed the term health anxiety (McElroy & Shevlin, 2013), internet addiction (Widyanto & McMurran, 2004), internet for medical information (Fergus & Dolan, 2014) etc.; however, past studies failed to reach any scale that can measure specifically the addiction to medical websites.”
Background
Comportamiento de autocuidado y de búsqueda de información en internet sobre la COVID-19
Cánovas, B. R., Rogala, A., & Rincón, A. G. (2022) · VISUAL REVIEW International Visual Culture Review / Revista Internacional de Cultura Visual · doi:10.37467/revvisual.v9.3639 · Cited by 1
Cyberchondria During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Chaudhury, S., & Dhamija, S. (2021) · Advances in media, entertainment and the arts (AMEA) book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-8630-3.ch013
Maine Shared Collections Strategy: Why now in Maine?
Guthro, C. (2012) · Digital Commons - Colby (Colby College)
Cyberchondrie – ein neues Verhaltenssyndrom?
Müller, A., Baumann, E., & Dierks, M. (2022) · PSYCH up2date · doi:10.1055/a-1726-5028
Developing a theoretical model to examine the antecedents to cyberchondria among Chinese Internet users
Zheng, H. (2022) · doi:10.32657/10356/161151
Pengaruh Regulasi Emosi Terhadap Tendensi Cyberchondria Mental Disorder Pada Fase Dewasa Awal
Sitompul, A. R. (2022) · Schema Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.29313/schema.v0i0.5444
The Effect of Health Anxiety on Cyberchondria—The Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Health Beliefs
李, 慕. (2023) · Advances in Psychology · doi:10.12677/ap.2023.133108 · Cited by 1
A study on the impact of Internet information access on patients' first-diagnosed seeking behaviors in primary hospitals in the context of "Health China" (Preprint)Preprint
Lin, Y., Lu, Y., Qu, J., & Zeng, Y. (2023) · doi:10.2196/preprints.49700
Anxiety and Somatoform Syndromes Predict Transplant-Focused Internet Use in the Course of an Organ Transplantation
Rometsch, C., Wietek, T. F., Bäuerle, A., Schweda, A., Skoda, E. M., Schäffeler, N., Stengel, A., Zipfel, S., Teufel, M., & Herrmann‐Werner, A. (2023) · Telemedicine Journal and e-Health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2023.0137
“The entire predictive value of the regression model reached significance ( F [6,38] = 3.98, p 0.001) with R 2 = 0.386.”
Influential
النموذج السببي للعلاقات بين الخوف من كورونا والسايبركندريا وإدمان الانترنت لدى طلاب الجامعة بالسعودية
الشيباني, م. ح. م. (2023) · المجلة التربوية لکلية التربية بسوهاج · doi:10.21608/edusohag.2023.331653

Authors: Fergus, T. A., & Dolan, S. L.
Affiliations: Baylor University (US)
ORCID: Fergus, Thomas A.
Dolan, Sara L.
Venue: Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2014-12
Volume: 17
Issue: 12
Pages: 761-765
ISSN: 2152-2715 (ISSN-L)
2152-2723
DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2014.0169
OpenAlex: W2051318853
Cited by: 112
References: 26
Citations by year: 2026: 11 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1
FWCI: 6.02
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.liebertpub.com/nv/resources-tools/text-and-data-mining-policy/121/ (tdm)
Locations: Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
Keywords: problematic internet use, cyberchondria, health anxiety, excessive internet use
MeSH terms: Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Health Education, Humans, Hypochondriasis, Male, Middle Aged, Statistics as Topic, United States, Utilization Review, Behavior, Addictive, Disease Progression, Internet, Consumer Health Information, Young Adult, Health Literacy

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Problematic Internet Use and Internet Searches for Medical Information: The Role of Health Anxiety

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks