Previous Experiences With Illness and Traumatic Experiences: A Specific Risk Factor For Hypochondriasis?
| Autor: | Florian Weck, Kathrin Göller, Julia M.B. Neng, Alexis M. Müller-Marbach |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male medicine.medical_specialty Specific risk MEDLINE Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) Risk Factors Surveys and Questionnaires medicine Humans Disease Psychiatry Applied Psychology Potential risk Case-control study medicine.disease Anxiety Disorders Hypochondriasis Psychiatry and Mental health Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events Case-Control Studies Wounds and Injuries Anxiety Female medicine.symptom Psychology Anxiety disorder Clinical psychology |
| Zdroj: | Psychosomatics. 55:362-371 |
| ISSN: | 0033-3182 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.psym.2013.10.005 |
| Popis: | Background Previous experiences with illness and traumatic experiences are considered as important risk factors for the development of health anxiety and hypochondriasis. However, empirical research is insufficient and lacks adequate comparison groups. Objective Therefore, we sought to determine whether experiences with illness and traumatic experiences are really specific risk factors for hypochondriasis. Method In the current study, patients with the diagnosis of hypochondriasis ( n = 80), patients with a primary anxiety disorder ( n = 80), and healthy controls ( n = 83) were investigated regarding their previous experiences with illness (self and other) and traumatic childhood experiences. Results We found that patients with hypochondriasis reported a higher level of experience with illness and with traumatic childhood experiences than healthy controls. However, no differences were found between patients with hypochondriasis and those with an anxiety disorder, regarding their level of experience with illness and traumatic experiences. Conclusions Previous experiences with illness and traumatic childhood experiences did not prove to be specific risk factors for the development of hypochondriasis. The importance of both experiences with illness and traumatic experiences as risk factors, as considered in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and in established cognitive-behavioral models, does not seem to be supported empirically. Further research should therefore also consider other potential risk factors discussed in the literature. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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