Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39686643›Full record

ArticleBritish journal of health psychology2025

Perceiving immunity, predicting somatic symptoms: Validation of the 'Perceived Immunity' scale and its association with daily health.

Nofar Mizrachi, Tobias Kube, Liron Rozenkrantz

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in British journal of health psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Nofar MizrachiPsychobiology of Beliefs Lab, The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel.ORCID 0000-0001-8044-6333
Tobias KubeDepartment of Psychology, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, Landau, Germany.
Liron RozenkrantzPsychobiology of Beliefs Lab, The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveWhile ample research links health beliefs to physical health in both healthy and clinical populations, the specific health beliefs that drive this effect remain underexplored. Addressing this gap is critical for mechanistic examinations and targeted intervention development. Building on previous work, this study aimed to assess subjective beliefs about immune system efficacy and develop a novel Perceived Immunity scale.

methodsAcross three studies (total N = 378; Study 1: N = 206 healthy; Study 2: N = 132 healthy and N = 40 with immune-related diseases; and Study 3: subset of N = 87 from Study 2), we examine Perceived Immunity scale's validity, reliability, and association with everyday physical health.

resultsPerceived immunity demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.9), strong construct validity (all items were loaded onto one factor) and structural validity, including convergence validity with scales assessing subjective health perceptions, and discriminant validity from scales measuring external health control. These findings were replicated across different cohorts. Furthermore, regression analyses revealed significant correlations with daily physical health measures, specifically somatic symptoms, across cohorts (all β > -0.347, all p < .001) and sick leave days (all β = -0.174, all p < .045). These associations were stronger in individuals with immune-related conditions. Finally, Perceived Immunity exhibited good test-retest reliability (interclass correlation coefficient = 0.74) and prospectively predicted somatic symptoms over time (β = -0.324, p = .002), with significant results observed up to 1 year.

conclusionsThe Perceived Immunity scale offers a valuable tool for researchers and health care providers, providing insights into the interplay between specific health beliefs and daily health. Furthermore, its validation lays the groundwork for targeted interventions that explore how health perceptions may directly influence actual physical experiences.

Indexed as

Health StatusAdolescentAdultAgedAttitude to HealthFemaleHumansImmune System DiseasesMaleMiddle AgedPsychometricsReproducibility of ResultsSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung Adultdaily healthhealth beliefshealth predictorsPerceived Immunityscale validationsomatic symptoms

Identifiers

PMID39686643
PMCPMC11650108

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.