Health anxiety by proxy differs in phenomenology between parents and dog owners.

ABSTRACT: Health anxiety by proxy refers to excessive concerns or preoccupation that a loved one may be suffering from or may acquire a serious illness. Although research with parents suggests that this condition may be highly prevalent, assessment has been limited in terms of attachment figures other than children. Dogs take the role of children in many families and the dog owners and parents show opposing patterns, though the underlying mechanisms are currently unknown attachment between humans and dogs shares important characteristics with the child-parent attachment. Thus, for the first time, we investigated whether health anxiety by proxy is also present in childless dog owners. To this end, we adapted an existing measure of health anxiety by proxy for parents to the situation of dog owners and

SUBMITTER: Lass-Hennemann J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12460664 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature