title: Time course of attentional bias for health-related information in individuals with health anxiety.
abstract: This study examined whether particular coping strategies influence attentional bias in individuals with health anxiety. A total of 84 participants were divided into four groups on the basis of their health-anxiety level (high/low) and coping strategy (monitor/blunter). The participants were shown screens displaying health-related pictures paired with non-health-related pictures. As a result, the high health-anxiety group was more attentive to health stimuli than the low health-anxiety group, regardless of the coping strategy. When maintaining attention, the high health-anxiety blunter shifted attention away from health stimuli, whereas the high health-anxiety monitor shifted attention toward the stimuli. These results indicated differences in how individuals manage attention processing according to their coping strategy.
authors.affiliation: Chung-Ang University, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sujin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Chung-Ang University, Republic of Korea clipsy@cau.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jang-Han
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000070379:Attentional Bias; D054626:Consumer Health Information; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057566:Self Report; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: anxiety; coping; health behavior; perception