Abstract
Background: Students’ health-related anxiety may exacerbate cyberchondria and internet addiction (IA), especially during pandemics such as the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the associations of students’ demographic and academic characteristics with cyberchondria, anxiety, and IA have not yet been examined. Aim: The present study aimed to compare university-level students’ scores in cyberchondria, IA, and anxiety (i.e. anxiety sensitivity, health anxiety, and coronavirus anxiety) based on students’ characteristics of number of years online, grade point average (GPA), the field of study, year of study, gender, and the availability of Internet access at school. Methods: Data were collected using valid questionnaires from 143 university-level students via a web-based survey. Results: Cyberchondria levels were moderate, IA mild, anxiety sensitivity low, health anxiety typical, and coronavirus anxiety functional. No significant differences in the total scores of the compared variables were noted between the compared groups. However, some individual items differed, as follows: 1) Cyberchondria differed according to the student’s GPA and the availability of the Internet access at school and 2) IA differed according to all characteristics; and 3) anxiety sensitivity and health anxiety differed according to students’ GPA. Conclusions: The students did not demonstrate high levels of cyberchondria, IA, anxiety sensitivity, or anxiety caused by searching for online health information. Conceptual differences in the concepts can be used in designing interventions to help students prevent and manage such challenges and address avoidance behaviors.
Highlights
Students’ health-related anxiety may exacerbate cyberchondria and internet addiction (IA), especially during pandemics such as the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
The students did not demonstrate high levels of cyberchondria, IA, anxiety sensitivity, or anxiety caused by searching for online health information
Conceptual differences in the concepts can be used in designing interventions to help students prevent and manage such challenges and address avoidance behaviors
Summary
Students’ health-related anxiety may exacerbate cyberchondria and internet addiction (IA), especially during pandemics such as the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Websites that provide online health-related information are numerous and are commonly used by all people, including university-level students, to search for health conditions or relieve health-related anxieties [1-5]. Excessive referral to online health information has increased anxiety [2,10]. Cyberchondria, defined as individuals’ health-related anxiety or distress about their health formed from or intensified by their excessive researches of health-related information online [11], has become prevalent and increased concerns about the individuals’ mental and physical health [11-13]. Internet addiction (IA), defined as excessive and uncontrolled use of the Internet [14], is a problem that has been linked to cyberchondria and has become prevalent including among university-level students [2,4,10,14-20]. People with psychological problems, including students, have reported a higher likelihood of having excessive online searches and IA [20]. More problematic Internet use has been more evident among female university students than among male students [21]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
