The relationship between looming cognitive style and health anxiety

In this thesis study, it was aimed to investigate whether looming cognitive style, that was found to be a cognitive vulnerability factor for anxiety disorders by several studies, predicts health anxiety. While studying this relationship, the effect of anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty that were other cognitive vulnerabilities related to health anxiety, and some sociodemographic variables that were found to affect health anxiety by conducting analyses in the current study were controlled statistically. The sample of the study was constructed with the convenience sampling method, and the data of 241 participants were included in the sample. Data were collected by applying the Looming Maladaptive Style Questionnaire-Revised, Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, Short Health Anxiety Inventory, and demographic information form. Collected data were analyzed by conducting hierarchical regression analysis and it was found that looming cognitive style did not predict health anxiety after controlling the effects of the control variables in question. To make sense of this result, a mediation analysis was conducted as an ad hoc analysis, and it was found that looming cognitive style predicted health anxiety through the mediation of anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty. Findings were discussed within the scope of the literature. Keywords: Looming Cognitive Style, Health Anxiety, Intolerance of Uncertainty, Anxiety Sensitivity