The pathways from online health information seeking to cyberchondria: A perspective from moderated mediation

Abstract

This study explores a theoretical framework evaluating the antecedents of cyberchondria. In doing so, we not only examined perceived severity as an intervening factor through which online health information seeking (OHIS) may influence cyberchondria but also sought to trace moderators that serve as boundary conditions. To explore the proposed framework, we collected data via a survey. Data were analyzed using conditional process analysis through the regression-centric procedure. We observed that the association between OHIS and cyberchondria is mediated by perceived severity. In addition, neuroticism & beliefs about rituals serve as the first and second stage moderators in influencing the antecedents of cyberchondria. Thus, unlike previous studies which mostly focus on direct effects, in this research, we focus on the mediation, moderation, and moderated mediation effects for hypothesis testing. Therefore, this research broadens our view of the antecedents of cyberchondria from a more systematic standpoint.

Keywords

• Cyberchondria
• Neuroticism
• Online health information seeking
• PROCESS Macro