title: A cognitive-perceptual model of symptom perception in males and females: the roles of negative affect, selective attention, health anxiety and psychological job demands.
abstract: Kolk et al.'s model of symptom perception underlines the effects of trait negative affect, selective attention and external stressors. The current study tested this model in 263 males and 498 females from an occupational sample. Trait negative affect was associated with symptom reporting in females only, and selective attention and psychological job demands were associated with symptom reporting in both genders. Health anxiety was associated with symptom reporting in males only. Future studies might consider the inclusion of selective attention, which was more strongly associated with symptom reporting than negative affect. Psychological job demands appear to influence symptom reporting in both males and females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, Weston Education Centre, 10 Cutcombe Rd, London, SE5 9RJ, UK. laura.goodwin@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Goodwin
authors.forename: Stephen H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Fairclough
authors.forename: Helen M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Poole
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires