The Subjective Component of Mental Health of Young People with Hypochondriacal Symptoms (Increased Anxiety about Health)

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Abstract

The author examines factors that prevent the increase of health anxiety to a pathological level and the formation of hypochondriacal symptoms. The aim of the study is to fill the gap in the research of hypochondria in normal society and compensate the lack of attention to the subjective component of mental health, expanding the understanding of its content. 40 persons (aged 18 to 32) permanently residing in Moscow were involved, of whom 20 had high and 20 had moderate health anxiety. Short Health Anxiety Inventory, Psychological Well-Being Scales, Hardiness Survey, Purpose-in-Life (PIL) Test, Sh. Schwartz’s Portrait Value Questionnaire were used. Statistical data processing was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistic 26 package; the results obtained in the groups were compared by the Mann - Whitney U test; and relationships between variables within groups were determined by Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The results showed a significant decrease in the group of the respondents with hypochondriacal symptoms in the indicators of the scales of psychological well-being, hardiness and life-meaning orientations. The scales of psychological well-being, as well as the severity of all the components of hardiness, were significantly negatively associated with the degree of health anxiety. A significant inverse relationship was found between the Life Process (LP) scale and the severity of health anxiety. Among the respondents with hypochondriacal symptoms, at the level of guiding principles of life, the following multidirectional conflicting values dominate: safety, conformity and hedonism. At the level of individual lifestyle preferences and behavior, the values that conflict with normative ideals dominate, namely: kindness, universalism and independence. Thus, the absence of deep value conflicts, the consistency of value orientations, a high level of psychological well-being, hardiness and meaningfulness of life can be considered as protective factors that moderate anxiety, which, under the dominance of both medical and hypochondriacal discourse in culture, can prevent the formation of hypochondriacal disorders.

About the authors

Tatyana D. Shevelenkova

Russian State University for the Humanities

Author for correspondence.
Email: shevelenkova@gmail.com
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5133-273X
SPIN-code: 9252-1750

Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Neuroand Pathopsychology, L.S. Vygotsky Institute of Psychology

6 Miusskaya Ploshchad', bldg 1, Moscow, 125047, Russian Federation

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