Item Reduction, Psychometric and Biometric Properties of the Italian Version of the Body Perception Questionnaire—Short Form (BPQ-SF): The BPQ-22

Andrea Poli, Angelo Giovanni Icro Maremmani, Carlo Chiorri, Gian-Paolo Mazzoni, Graziella Orrù, Jacek Kolacz, Stephen W. Porges, Ciro Conversano, Angelo Gemignani and Mario Miccoli
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Andrea Poli: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Angelo Giovanni Icro Maremmani: Department of Psychiatry, North-Western Tuscany Region NHS Local Health Unit, Versilia Zone, 55049 Viareggio, Italy
Carlo Chiorri: Department of Educational Sciences, University of Genova, 16121 Genova, Italy
Gian-Paolo Mazzoni: Florence Cognitive School, 50144 Florence, Italy
Graziella Orrù: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Jacek Kolacz: Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at the Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Stephen W. Porges: Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at the Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Ciro Conversano: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Angelo Gemignani: Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Mario Miccoli: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-22

Abstract: Body awareness disorders and reactivity are mentioned across a range of clinical problems. Constitutional differences in the control of the bodily state are thought to generate a vulnerability to psychological symptoms. Autonomic nervous system dysfunctions have been associated with anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Though interoception may be a transdiagnostic mechanism promoting the improvement of clinical symptomatology, few psychometrically sound, symptom-independent, self-report measures, informed by brain–body circuits, are available for research and clinical use. We validated the Italian version of the body perception questionnaire (BPQ)—short form and found that response categories could be collapsed from five to three and that the questionnaire retained a three-factor structure with items reduced from 46 to 22 (BPQ-22). The first factor was loaded by body awareness items; the second factor comprised some items from the body awareness scale and some from the subdiaphragmatic reactivity scale (but all related to bloating and digestive issues), and the third factor by supradiaphragmatic reactivity items. The BPQ-22 had sound psychometric properties, good convergent and discriminant validity and test–retest reliability and could be used in clinical and research settings in which the body perception assessment is of interest. Psychometric findings in light of the polyvagal theory are discussed.

Keywords: body perception; body; interoception; polyvagal theory; psychological trauma; vagus nerve (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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