Questionnaires of interoception do not assess the same construct

Author: Luca Vig1,2, Ferenc Köteles2, Eszter Ferentzi2
Affiliation:
1 Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
2 Institute of Health Promotion and Sport Sciences, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
Conference/Journal: PLoS One
Date published: 2022 Aug 23
Other: Volume ID: 17 , Issue ID: 8 , Pages: e0273299 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273299. , Word Count: 167


There are a number of questionnaires assessing the self-reported trait-like aspect of interoception, also called interoceptive sensibility (ISb). Based on the varying purposes of their development and characteristics, however, it is not likely that they assess exactly the same construct. In a community sample of 265 adults, we examined this assumption for three commonly used questionnaires of ISb, namely the Body Awareness subscale of the Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ-BA), the Body Awareness Questionnaire (BAQ), and the eight subscales of Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). We investigated their associations, and their relation to positive and negative affect and somatosensory amplification. According to the results of correlation analysis, BPQ-BA, BAQ and MAIA were partly unrelated to each other, partly showed weak to moderate positive associations. Also, differences with respect to their association with positive and negative affect were found. These findings suggest that the investigated questionnaires cannot be used interchangeably to assess the subjective aspect of interoception, and the term ISb is not appropriately defined.


PMID: 35998182 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273299

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