(PS4-A12) Sexual Assault and Health Anxiety: The Role of Body Vigilance, Anxiety Sensitivity, and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Trauma exposure is considered a risk factor for the development of health anxiety – which refers to excessive concern about one’s health status and involves overestimates of the likelihood and severity of illness. Some research suggests that survivors of sexual assault (SA) specifically are at increased risk for health anxiety; however, limited research exists in this area. The present study aimed to compare levels of health anxiety and psychological risk factors for health anxiety across three groups: (a) non-trauma-exposed individuals (no TE, n = 235), (b) trauma-exposed individuals without a history of SA (non-SA TE, n = 187), and (c) SA survivors (SA, n = 96). A secondary aim was to examine predictors of health anxiety among SA survivors.

Measures of trauma exposure and PTSS (Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale-5; PDS-5), health anxiety (Short Health Anxiety Index; SHAI), anxiety sensitivity (Anxiety Sensitivity Index, ASI-3), body vigilance (Body Vigilance Scale; BVS), and depression (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale; DASS-21) were administered to community members (N = 518). First, we compared demographic and clinical variables across the three groups of participants. Then a series of regressions was performed to predict scores on the SHAI severity and likelihood scales among individuals with a history of SA. The DASS depression subscale was entered in Step 1 and the ASI subscales, BVS, and PDS-5 in Step 2.

The SA group reported higher scores on the ASI-Physical, BVS, PDS-5, and SHAI likelihood scale than did the other two groups (all p’s < .05). The overall regression predicting SHAI likelihood scores among SA survivors accounted for approximately 45.3% of the variance (F (6, 85) = 11.73, p < .001), with the ASI-Physical subscale, BVS, and PDS-5 emerging as significant individual predictors. The overall regression model predicting SHAI severity scores among SA survivors accounted for approximately 11.5% of the variance (F (6, 86) = 1.87, p =.10), which was not statistically significant.

SA survivors reported higher levels of health anxiety compared to individuals without a history of SA, including other trauma survivors. Body vigilance and anxiety sensitivity – both implicated in health anxiety—appear to be elevated among SA survivors and may play a role in increased health anxiety in this population. Results also suggest that PTSS are associated with higher levels of health anxiety among SA survivors. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms by which SA may lead to health anxiety. Such research will be critical to designing effective prevention and intervention approaches for health anxiety following SA.