The DOI matches its Crossref record; 41 of the 41 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The CSS-12: Development and Validation of a Short-Form Version of the Cyberchondria Severity Scale
Open accessAbstract
Abstract Cyberchondria is defined as an increase in anxiety about one's health status as a result of excessive online searches. McElroy and Shevlin (2014) developed the first multidimensional, self-report measure of this construct–the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS). The CSS consists of 33 items which can be summed to form a total score, and/or 5 subscale scores. The aim of the present study was to develop a short-form version of the CSS, removing the “Mistrust” subscale. Participants were undergraduate students from two UK universities ( N = 661, 73% female, M age = 22.19 years, SD = 5.88). Students completed the CSS, Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7). Twelve items were chosen for retention in the short form based on an exploratory factor analysis. These items corresponded to the four factors previously identified in the 33-item scale (minus the “Mistrust” subscale). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the structure of the CSS-12. Confirmatory bifactor modeling indicated that the majority of item covariance was accounted for by a general cyberchondria factor. Construct validity was assessed by examining associations with the SHAI and GAD-7, with stronger correlations observed between the CSS-12 and the SHAI (compared with the GAD-7). The CSS-12 is a brief, reliable, and valid measure of worry/anxiety attributable to excessive online health research.
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“On psychometric evaluation, he scored 29/54 on the Short Health Anxiety Inventory [1], 44/60 on the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (12 items; [2]) and 18/72 on the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R; [3]).”
BackgroundMethodRecent Insights Into Cyberchondria
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The impact of internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for health anxiety on cyberchondria
Newby, J. M., & McElroy, E. (2020) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2019.102150 · Cited by 79
Metadata
- Authors
- McElroy, E., Kearney, M., Touhey, J., Evans, J., Cooke, Y., & Shevlin, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- University of Ulster (GB)
- Corresponding author
- McElroy, Eoin
- Venue
- Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2019-05
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 330-335
- ISSN
- 2152-2715 (ISSN-L)
- 2152-2723
- OpenAlex
- W2941943387
- Cited by
- 179
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 39 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 19.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- pure.ulster.ac.uk
- Locations
- Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Ulster University Research Portal (Ulster University) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Keywords
- cyberchondria, Cyberchondria Severity Scale, short-form scale development, online health information seeking, health anxiety, bifactor model, construct validity, Short Health Anxiety Inventory, generalized anxiety disorder
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Humans, Hypochondriasis, Male, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Students, Universities, Reproducibility of Results, Internet, Young Adult, Self Report, Diagnostic Self Evaluation
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