Adverse childhood experiences in patients with severe health anxiety

No evidence for an increased frequency compared to patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder

Bibliographic Data

ID21392022
AuthorsTine Bennedsen Gehrt (0000-0002-9492-9448, Center on Autobiographical Memory Research Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark, corresponding author), Marie‐Louise Obermann (Research Clinic for Functional Disorders Aarhus University Hospital Aarhus Denmark), Fruzsina Eva Toth (Clinic for OCD and Anxiety Disorders Aarhus University Hospital Aarhus Denmark), Lisbeth Frostholm (0000-0002-9683-7416, Research Clinic for Functional Disorders Aarhus University Hospital Aarhus Denmark)
Year2022
Volume63
Issue6
Pages565-572
Publication date2022-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScandinavian Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0036-5564 • E-ISSN: 1467-9450
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/sjop.12856
PMID35778854
OpenAlexW4283778189
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited34

Theoretical models of health anxiety emphasize adverse childhood experiences in the development of the disorder, but few studies examine such events in patients with severe health anxiety and the results are difficult to compare across studies. The present study examined adult retrospective reports of illness‐related and traumatic childhood experiences in 31 patients with severe health anxiety, 32 non‐clinical control participants, and a clinical control group of 33 patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder. No evidence of an increased frequency of adverse childhood experiences in patients with severe health anxiety was found. However, patients with severe health anxiety who had experienced the death of a friend or family member or a major upheaval during childhood, perceived these events as having been more traumatic than the control participants. These findings suggest that biases in how adverse childhood experiences are interpreted or remembered might play a role in severe health anxiety. The findings are discussed in relation to the cognitive behavioral model of health anxiety, and some of the processes in interpretation and memory that could explain how adverse childhood experiences might play a role in the development and maintenance of severe health anxiety are outlined

Adverse Childhood Experiences · Anxiety · Anxiety disorder · Mental health · Obsessive compulsive · Psychiatry · Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders · Psychology

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