Development and validity of cyberchondria tendency scale

Abstract

Cyberchondria is the name given to individuals who research their existing or imaginary diseases online. We developed a scale for measuring individuals’ cyberchondria tendencies. The 36-item test form produced was applied to 1,200 participants (694 male and 506 female) residing in different provinces, with health problems in the previous month and accessible via
e-mail. The data obtained were then subjected to analysis. A structure consisting of 30 items and two dimensions, ‘Reflection’ and ‘Information Seeking’ was obtained with exploratory factor analysis. The relation between the entire scale and the subscales was investigated and the factors were determined to be positively and significantly correlated. The goodness of fit indices of the model was at acceptable levels. The validated scale can be used to determine whether or not both patients and Internet users in general regard the Internet as a basic source of information when health problems occur.

Keywords: Cyberchondria, cyberchondria tendency, scale development, instrumental study.