Exploring the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness in youth aged 7-17 years

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Interoceptive awareness is crucial for emotional regulation and self-awareness.
• Existing measures like the MAIA are primarily validated for adults.
• Adapting assessment tools for pediatric populations is essential for developmental research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) for use in younger populations.
• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the adapted MAIA in children and adolescents.
• To provide a reliable measure of interoceptive awareness for developmental studies.

Main Methods:

• The MAIA questionnaire underwent language revisions for a younger demographic.
• Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the eight-factor model.
• The adapted questionnaire was administered to children (7-10 years) and adolescents (11-17 years).

Main Results:

• The adapted MAIA demonstrated acceptable model fit in the total sample and younger subsample, with adequate fit in the older subsample after modification.
• Internal consistency was generally good, with noted exceptions in the Noticing, Not-Distracting, and Not-Worrying scales.
• A negative linear relationship between the trusting scale and age was observed, suggesting a potential decline in body trust as individuals age.

Conclusions:

• The adapted MAIA is suitable for assessing interoceptive awareness in children and adolescents.
• Researchers can select individual MAIA scales based on specific research objectives.
• The findings highlight a developmental trend in body trust, warranting further investigation.