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

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.