The Affective and Cognitive Dimensions of Health Anxiety Are Associated With Different Orientations to Health Threat

Abstract

Using a sample of medically healthy college students (N = 412), this study examined whether the two core dimensions of health anxiety share differential relations with orientations (approach and avoidance) to health threat. These two dimensions are an affective dimension marked by health worry and a cognitive dimension marked by disease conviction. Using a scenario-based measure that depicted potential health threats, the tendency to respond to such threats using safety behaviors that paralleled either approach or avoidance behavior was assessed. As predicted, zero-order and partial correlation analyses revealed that approach-based safety behaviors were especially relevant to the affective dimension of health anxiety and avoidance-based safety behaviors were especially relevant to the cognitive dimension of health anxiety. Conceptual and therapeutic implications are discussed.