Psychological meaning of “hypochondriac discourse”: the relationship between values of the health care and cognitive beliefs about body, illness and treatment

The cognitive beliefs about health and illness and the value of health are traditionally regarded as one of the key factors of health behavior, as well as self-regulation in health and illness. The model of psychological regulation of body functions assumes that widespread and authoritative medical discourse on the body in the culture may be factor that increases the risk of unexplained somatic symptoms. The aim of this study is to investigate the models of value of caring for selves and health in people and their relationship with cognitive beliefs about body, illness and treatment as well as the frequency of colds and exacerbation of chronic somatic diseases. We studied four models of values of caring for health: health as a depletable resource requiring conservation, health as fragile value requiring protection and control, health as a necessary source of success, communication and happiness, health as requiring periodic restoration by methods of alternative medicine. 113 respondents aged 21 to 76 years completed Questionnaire of Values of Health Care, Compliance-related Causality Orienations Scale, Locus of Control of Illness Reasons and Treatment Scale, Compliance-related Self-Efficacy Scale, Cognitive Attitudes About Body And Health Scale. The results demonstrates the prevalence in the culture of models of health as health as a depletable resource requiring conservation and health as fragile value requiring protection and control. The acceptance of models of health values is, on the one hand, related to willingness to seek medical help and follow treatment, but, on the other hand, to an excessive attention to bodily sensations, somatosensory amplification, monitoring and catastrophization about bodily sensations. We discuss the psychological consequences of the spread of “hypochondriac discourse” in a culture in its various forms.