Health in the digital age – What are you googling? Health-related Internet research and cyberchondria among adolescents (Preprint)

Abstract

Health-related Internet searches are widespread among the general population. Cyberchondria, i.e., excessive health-related Internet research that leads to emotional stress, showed significant associations with personality traits on the one hand and psychological symptoms on the other (in particular health anxiety, problematic Internet use, compulsive behavior) in studies with adults. Although adolescents show a high level of Internet use and great interest in health topics, there has been little research into cyberchondria in adolescents.

This study aimed to explore the role of cyberchondria in adolescents and its relationship with psychological traits (intolerance of uncertainty) and symptoms (health anxiety, problematic Internet use, and obsessive-compulsive behavior). It also examined whether intolerance of uncertainty moderates the relationship between cyberchondria and health anxiety.

A cross-sectional online survey (including questionnaires on the relevant constructs) conducted between April and July 2023 involved N = 159 adolescents (14 - 17 years, mean 15.90, SD 0.88; 54% male, 45% female, 1% diverse).

83% of adolescents reported searching for health-related topics on the Internet. On average, they spent around 10 minutes daily on health-related Internet use (mean 8.68, SD 11.57) out a total average of 240 minutes per day online (mean = 238.30, SD = 103.84). Significant strong, positive correlations were found between cyberchondria and health anxiety (r=.54, P≤.001), problematic Internet use (r=.50, P≤.001), compulsive behavior (r=.47, P≤.001), and intolerance of uncertainty (r=.55, P≤.001). The moderation analysis showed a significant overall model with high variance explanation (∆R2= 8.08%, F3,155=38.26, P≤.001), but intolerance of uncertainty was not a significant moderator (∆R2˂.01%, F1,155= .79, P= .38, 95%, CI[-.01, .03]).

The results show that health-related Internet research in adolescence is of comparable importance to that in adulthood. Although the study does not allow any causal conclusions to be drawn, it identifies relevant characteristics (traits such as insecurity intolerance and psychological symptoms such as health anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behavior) that are associated with cyberchondria.