The Interoceptive Sensitivity and Attention Questionnaire: Evaluating aspects of self-reported interoception in patients with persistent somatic symptoms, stress-related syndromes and healthy controls
Author: Katleen Bogaerts1, Marta Walentynowicz, Maaike Van Den Houte, Elena Constantinou, Omer Van den Bergh
Affiliation:
1 Rehabilitation Research Center (REVAL), Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Clinical and Health Psychology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium Centre for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Laboratory for Brain-Gut Axis Studies (LABGAS), Translational Research Center for Gastrointestinal Disorders (TARGID), Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Conference/Journal: Psychosom Med
Date published: 2021 Nov 24
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001038. , Word Count: 250
Objective:
To validate the Interoceptive Sensitivity and Attention Questionnaire (ISAQ), a 17-item self-report measure assessing sensitivity and attention to interoceptive signals.
Methods:
In study 1, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was performed in a student convenience sample (n = 1868). In study 2, ISAQ data of a healthy sample (n = 144) and various patient groups experiencing stress-related syndromes [overstrain; n = 63; burnout; n = 37; panic disorder (PD; n = 60)] and/or persistent somatic symptoms in daily life [irritable bowel syndrome (IBS; n = 38); fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome (FM/CFS; n = 151); medically unexplained dyspnea (MUD; n = 29)] were compared.
Results:
Three subscales were revealed: (F1) sensitivity to neutral bodily sensations, (F2) attention to unpleasant bodily sensations, and (F3) difficulty disengaging from unpleasant bodily sensations. Overall, patients with FM/CFS and patients with MUD scored significantly higher on F1 (p = .009 resp. p = .027) and F2 (p = .002 resp. p < .001) than healthy controls. Patients with PD had higher scores on subscales F2 (p < .001) and F3 (p < .001) compared with healthy controls, as well as higher scores on F2 compared with all other patient groups (p-value PD vs. MUD = .008, all other p-values <.001).
Conclusions:
Interoceptive sensibility - the self-reported aspect of interoception - is not a homogeneous or unitary construct. The subscales of the ISAQ differentiate healthy controls from patients with persistent somatic and/or stress-related complaints in daily life and distinguish different patient groups. The ISAQ can be used as a concise, reliable, and clinically relevant research tool to further disentangle adaptive and maladaptive aspects of interoceptive ability.
PMID: 34840287 DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001038
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