TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychological distress in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: the joint contribution of intolerance of uncertainty and cyberchondria
AU - Marino, Claudia
AU - Spada, Marcantonio
PY - 2021/7/19
Y1 - 2021/7/19
N2 - Objective
To explore the direct and indirect associations between intolerance of uncertainty, health anxiety (HA), and psychological distress through problematic internet use (PIU) and cyberchondria, both before and during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design
Two Italian samples were enrolled via an online questionnaire. Sample 1 (N = 556; 69.3% females, Mage 29.6 years, SD = 13.2) was recruited in non-pandemic times, whereas Sample 2 (N = 575; 74% females, Mage 31.9 years, SD = 13.4) was recruited during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Main outcome measures
Self-report measures assessing HA and psychological distress.
Results
Two distinct path analyses showed that intolerance of uncertainty was directly associated with HA and psychological distress in both samples. Moreover, cyberchondria partially mediated the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and HA and PIU partially mediated the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and psychological distress in both samples. The link between cyberchondria and psychological distress was significant in Sample 2 but non-significant in Sample 1. The model accounted for a substantial variance of HA and psychological distress in both samples.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that problematic online behaviors might exacerbate the negative consequences of intolerance of uncertainty in terms of higher levels of HA and psychological distress both in pandemic and non-pandemic contexts.
AB - Objective
To explore the direct and indirect associations between intolerance of uncertainty, health anxiety (HA), and psychological distress through problematic internet use (PIU) and cyberchondria, both before and during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design
Two Italian samples were enrolled via an online questionnaire. Sample 1 (N = 556; 69.3% females, Mage 29.6 years, SD = 13.2) was recruited in non-pandemic times, whereas Sample 2 (N = 575; 74% females, Mage 31.9 years, SD = 13.4) was recruited during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Main outcome measures
Self-report measures assessing HA and psychological distress.
Results
Two distinct path analyses showed that intolerance of uncertainty was directly associated with HA and psychological distress in both samples. Moreover, cyberchondria partially mediated the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and HA and PIU partially mediated the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and psychological distress in both samples. The link between cyberchondria and psychological distress was significant in Sample 2 but non-significant in Sample 1. The model accounted for a substantial variance of HA and psychological distress in both samples.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that problematic online behaviors might exacerbate the negative consequences of intolerance of uncertainty in terms of higher levels of HA and psychological distress both in pandemic and non-pandemic contexts.
KW - Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
KW - Applied Psychology
U2 - 10.1080/08870446.2021.1952584
DO - 10.1080/08870446.2021.1952584
M3 - Article
SN - 0887-0446
JO - Psychology & Health
JF - Psychology & Health
ER -