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Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran. , tourajhashemi@yahoo.com
Abstract: (37 Views)
Background: Health anxiety significantly affects various life domains, including emotional and physical well-being. While previous research has explored related factors, a thorough examination of how rumination mediate the relationship between health anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and severity of physical symptoms remains lacking.
Aims: The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and the severity of physical symptoms of health anxiety, with rumination serving as a mediator.
Methods: The present study employed a descriptive-correlational design using structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population comprised all students of Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, during the 2023–2024 academic year, from which 403 participants were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. The research instruments included the Health Anxiety Inventory (Salkovskis et al., 2002), the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (Floyd et al., 2005), the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (Barsky et al., 1990), and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski et al., 2007). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and SEM via SPSS-25 and AMOS-24 software. The mediating role was tested through the bootstrapping method with a significance level set at 0.05.
Results: The results indicated that the proposed model demonstrated a good fit. Anxiety sensitivity and somatic symptom severity were positively and directly associated with health anxiety (β = 0.26, p < 0.05; and β = 0.24, p < 0.05, respectively). Moreover, these variables were indirectly related to health anxiety through the mediation of rumination (β = 0.10, p < 0.05; and β = 0.13, p < 0.05, respectively).
Conclusion: Based on the results, rumination plays a mediating role in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and somatic symptom severity with health anxiety. These findings highlight the importance of identifying and targeting rumination in order to reduce health anxiety. The results can inform the design of educational and therapeutic interventions for students or individuals with high anxiety sensitivity and prominent somatic symptoms. Implementing cognitive-behavioral strategies aimed at reducing rumination may help prevent the exacerbation of health anxiety.
Aims: The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and the severity of physical symptoms of health anxiety, with rumination serving as a mediator.
Methods: The present study employed a descriptive-correlational design using structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population comprised all students of Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, during the 2023–2024 academic year, from which 403 participants were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. The research instruments included the Health Anxiety Inventory (Salkovskis et al., 2002), the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (Floyd et al., 2005), the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (Barsky et al., 1990), and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski et al., 2007). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and SEM via SPSS-25 and AMOS-24 software. The mediating role was tested through the bootstrapping method with a significance level set at 0.05.
Results: The results indicated that the proposed model demonstrated a good fit. Anxiety sensitivity and somatic symptom severity were positively and directly associated with health anxiety (β = 0.26, p < 0.05; and β = 0.24, p < 0.05, respectively). Moreover, these variables were indirectly related to health anxiety through the mediation of rumination (β = 0.10, p < 0.05; and β = 0.13, p < 0.05, respectively).
Conclusion: Based on the results, rumination plays a mediating role in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and somatic symptom severity with health anxiety. These findings highlight the importance of identifying and targeting rumination in order to reduce health anxiety. The results can inform the design of educational and therapeutic interventions for students or individuals with high anxiety sensitivity and prominent somatic symptoms. Implementing cognitive-behavioral strategies aimed at reducing rumination may help prevent the exacerbation of health anxiety.
Article number: 4
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
General
Received: 2025/08/6 | Accepted: 2026/07/11 | Published: 2026/09/23
Received: 2025/08/6 | Accepted: 2026/07/11 | Published: 2026/09/23
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This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)