Individual differences in disgust sensitivity and health-related avoidance: Examination of specific associations

•Disgust sensitivity was associated with anxious responding to health-related BATs.•Disgust sensitivity was associated with avoidant responding to health-related BATs.•The associations remained after controlling for other risk factors.•Health-related avoidance was better predicted by contamination disgust sensitivity.

This present study examined the specificity of disgust sensitivity in predicting health-related anxiety and behavioral avoidance. Participants (n = 60) completed self-report measures of disgust sensitivity, health anxiety, anxiety, and depression. They then completed three randomly presented health-related behavioral avoidance tasks (BATs) that consisted of potential exposure to the common cold, the flu, and mononucleosis. Results indicated that disgust sensitivity was significantly associated with anxious and avoidant responding to the health-related BATs. This association also remained largely intact after controlling for gender, anxiety, depression, and health anxiety. These findings indicate that disgust sensitivity has a specific and robust association with health-related anxiety and avoidance commonly observed among those with excessive health anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. The unique role of disgust sensitivity in relation to health anxiety is discussed in the context of a disease-avoidance model.