Published on: October 2026
CYBERCHONDRIA: ONLINE HEALTH ANXIETY IN THE GENERAL POPULATION.
Sakshi Patil Sanskruti Bombe Suparna Deepak
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Abstract
The present cross-sectional study aimed to investigate online health information seeking behaviours and experiences with cyberchondria among the adults in general population. The data were collected using Google Forms structured questionnaire from participants aged 18 years and older. In total, 201 questionnaires were completed, and out of those, 198 questionnaires were included in the study after obtaining consent from the participants. The experiences with cyberchondria were measured using 12-item Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12) comprising four domains; Excessiveness, Distress, Reassurance, and Compulsion. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation analysis were performed to examine the data.
In general, the results of the study indicate that different manifestations of information seeking on the Internet are related to experiences of cyberchondria among adult residents of the general population. However, given the nature of the study’s design, it is impossible to claim that the former causes the latter. Further research that includes broader populations and uses different methodologies, including longitudinal studies, would be beneficial for establishing causal relationships and better understanding the dynamics of the relationships between the variables in question.
KEYWORDS: Cyberchondria; Digital Health Anxiety; Excessive Health Searching; Reassurance-Seeking Behaviour; Compulsive Health Searching; Cyberchondria Severity Scale-12;
How to Cite this Paper
Patil, S., Bombe, S. & Deepak, S. (2026). Cyberchondria: Online Health Anxiety in the General Population.. International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, <i>02</i>(10), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i10.042
Patil, Sakshi, et al.. "Cyberchondria: Online Health Anxiety in the General Population.." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, vol. 02, no. 10, 2026, pp. 1-9. doi:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i10.042.
Patil, Sakshi,Sanskruti Bombe, and Suparna Deepak. "Cyberchondria: Online Health Anxiety in the General Population.." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management 02, no. 10 (2026): 1-9. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i10.042.
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- •Published on: Oct 08 2026
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