Designing and testing a model of psychological antecedents of cyberchondria in students of Payam Noor University, Kermanshah Province
Journal of Behdasht dar Arseh (i.e., Health in the Field),
Vol. 13 No. 2 (1404),
4 January 2026
,
Page 68-78
https://doi.org/10.22037/jhf.v13i2.50029
Abstract
Background and Aims: Cyberchondria is a term used to describe the excessive search for health care information on the web, which has many negative consequences. This study aimed to design and test a model of psychological antecedents of cyberchondria in students of Payam Noor University in Kermanshah province.
Materials and Methods: The research design was a descriptive correlational study with a structural equation approach. The statistical population of the study included female undergraduate students of Payam Noor University of Kermanshah Province, of whom 120 were selected as a sample using multi-stage cluster sampling. A questionnaire was used to collect data, and the collected data were analyzed using SPSS-28 software and structural equation modeling was performed using Smart-PLS-4 software. Ethical considerations were also taken into account in all stages of the study.
Results: The results of data analysis showed that the conceptual model of the study has a good fit and health anxiety with a path coefficient (R = 0.26, P ≤ 0.01), psychological distress with a path coefficient (R = 0.22, P ≤ 0.01), and psychological body image inflexibility with a path coefficient (R = 0.56, P ≤ 0.01) have the power to predict cyberchondria.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that health anxiety, psychological distress, and psychological body image inflexibility can explain a large part of the changes in cyber self-harm, and by controlling the variables of health anxiety, psychological distress, and psychological body image inflexibility, cyber self-harm behavior was reduced in students.
- Cyberchondria
- health anxiety
- Psychological distress
- Psychological inflexibility of body image
How to Cite
References
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