Childhood antecedents of hypochondriasis.
According to the interpersonal model of hypochondriasis, early environmental adversity may give rise to attachment insecurity that finds adult expression in care-seeking behavior. To identify antecedents of this disturbance, we interviewed general medicine patients and obtained from them self-reports of traumatic events, adverse circumstances, and symptoms experienced in childhood. Patients who met DSM-III-R criteria for hypochondriasis more often reported traumatic events and circumstances, including serious illness or injury. Among all patients, the level of hypochondriacal symptoms in adulthood was correlated with poor health, hypochondriacal worry, and separation anxiety in childhood. These findings are consistent with a growing literature that links childhood adversity to adult hypochondriasis; they support the interpersonal model.
Department of Biostatics, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA. russell-noyes@uioea.edu
Russell
R
Noyes
Scott
S
Stuart
Douglas R
DR
Langbehn
Rachel L
RL
Happel
Susan L
SL
Longley
Steven J
SJ
Yagla
D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006998:Hypochondriasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008016:Life Change Events; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors