Health Anxiety in Young Indonesian Adults: A Preliminary Study

Author: Venie Viktoria Rondang Maulina, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia
Published: March 2016
https://doi.org/10.22492/ijpbs.2.1.02

Citation: Maulina, V. V. R. (2016). Health Anxiety in Young Indonesian Adults: A Preliminary Study. IAFOR Journal of Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.22492/ijpbs.2.1.02


Abstract

In young adulthood most people begin to realize the meaning of health. The amount of costs to be incurred for the treatment of a person when they are suffering from a disease also affects a person's health concern. According to Taylor and Asmundson (2004), most people feel anxious about their health. Anxiety about health can differ from one person to another. Through this study a general overview of health anxiety for young adults in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta, can be seen. Participants in this study consisted of 263 people, aged 20-40 years (M = 27.23 , SD = 5.50). Sociodemographic variables include ages, gender, and marital status, level of education, employment status, and ethnicity. Researcher used Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI; Salkovskis, Rimes, & Warwick, 2002), Patient Health Questionnaire Somatic Symptom Severity Scale (PHQ-15; Kroenke, Spitzer, & William, 2002). For data analysis, researcher used The Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The results showed significant correlation between health anxiety and somatic symptoms.

Keywords

young adulthood, health anxiety, somatic symptom