ArticleInternational journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health2025
Online Health Information Seeking and Cyberchondria Among Men at Risk of HIV Infection: A Moderated Mediation Model.
Article in International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Latent profile and associated factors of digital health literacy among patients with coronary heart disease: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Examining the relationships between internet addiction, online health information-seeking behavior and cyberchondria.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Latent profiles of digital health literacy and perceived stigma in burn patients: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
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3 authors.
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Abstract
Objectives: This study investigates the relationship between HIV/AIDS-related online health information seeking (OHIS) and cyberchondria among Chinese men who have engaged in high-risk sexual behaviors. It proposes a moderated mediation model to explore the role of query escalation as a mediator and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) as a moderator in this relationship. Method: A survey was conducted with 227 men from an online community focused on HIV/AIDS-related fear in China. Participants reported their frequency of OHIS, levels of query escalation and IU, and experiences of cyberchondria. The study employed the PROCESS macro to examine the proposed moderated mediation model. Results: The findings indicated that frequent OHIS significantly predicts cyberchondria, with query escalation mediating this relationship. Additionally, IU moderates the mediation pathway, weakening the effect of query escalation on cyberchondria when IU is high. This suggests that individuals with high IU are less likely to experience escalating health inquiries and, consequently, cyberchondria. Conclusions: The study highlights the complex interaction between OHIS, query escalation, and IU in predicting cyberchondria among high-risk groups. These insights are crucial for designing effective interventions to mitigate cyberchondria by addressing the escalation of health information seeking and managing uncertainty intolerance in this population.
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