Anxiety Sensitivity as a Mediating Factor in the Relationship Between Parenting and Health Anxiety (2012)

Undergraduates: Madeline Kirch, Madeline Kirch Michael Wheaton

Faculty Advisor: Jon Abramowitz
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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Currently, there is little research on the relationship between childhood experiences and health anxiety. However, there is evidence that parental overprotection may lead to a higher rates of OCD symptoms in offspring. Because health anxiety involves similar cognitive mechanisms as OCD, we sought to investigate the relationship between parental overprotection and health anxiety. In addition, Anxiety Sensitivity was examined as a mediating factor because it has been linked to both health anxiety and parental bonding. It was hypothesized that anxiety sensitivity will mediate the relationship between parental overprotection and health anxiety. Measures were administered to a large sample of undergraduate students enrolled in introductory psychology classes at a large Southeastern Univeristy (N= 243). Measures included the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Short Health Anxiety Inventory, and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3. Correlational analyses revealed a weak but significant association between health anxiety scores and both maternal (r = .16; p <.05) and paternal overprotection (r= .13; p <.05). A partial correlation revealed that neither paternal (r=.03, p>.05) nor maternal (r=.06, p>.05) overprotection was significantly correlated with health anxiety once anxiety sensitivity scores was controlled for. Results suggest that there is a relationship between parental overprotection and health anxiety and that this relationship appeared to be mediated by anxiety sensitivity.