Abstract:

The common belief that older adults with no evidence of pathology nonetheless worry about their health & make inappropriate demands for health services is examined, using data on the 4,578 baseline self-respondents to the 4-wave Longitudinal Study on Aging. The "worried well" are defined as worried about their health in the absence of: any known medical conditions, any functional limitations, or a combination of both. The effect of these terms on 11 indices of health services utilization measured at baseline & 2 & 4 years thereafter is assessed net of a comprehensive set of covariates specified by the behavioral model. No consistent evidence is found to support the notion of the worried well or their inappropriate demands for care. Implications for theories of health & health behavior for strategic planning within managed care organizations are discussed.