Perceived socioeconomic vulnerability, but not objective poverty, is linked to interoception through perceived stress

Socioeconomic vulnerability is associated with higher levels of stress and adverse effects on physical, mental, and cognitive health. However, its influence on interoceptive awareness-defined as the perception, interpretation, and regulation of bodily signals-remains underexplored. This study examined the relationships between objective (multidimensional poverty) and subjective (perceived vulnerability) measures of socioeconomic vulnerability, perceived stress, and interoceptive awareness, as well as the mediating role of stress.

A total of 104 adults (50 women, 54 men; aged 30-45 years; mean schooling = 14.7 years) completed self-report measures of perceived vulnerability, perceived stress, and interoceptive awareness using the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA).

Perceived vulnerability, but not multidimensional poverty, was negatively associated with interoceptive awareness, both at the total MAIA score level and across subscales. Furthermore, perceived stress partially mediated the association between perceived vulnerability and interoceptive awareness.

These findings suggest that the subjective perception of socioeconomic vulnerability may impair the ability to attend to and consciously use bodily signals through psycho-affective and cognitive mechanisms. This complements physiological models linking socioeconomic experiences with interoceptive processes, highlighting the relevance of subjective vulnerability in shaping interoceptive functioning.