Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry · Published 2025-07-01 · DOI 10.4103/ijsp.ijsp_124_24
Background: Interoceptive awareness is a multidimensional construct that includes the type of bodily awareness that can be maladaptive as presumed in individuals diagnosed with somatoform disorder and can also be adaptive as seen in mindfulness-based approaches; hence, it is necessary to differentiate between the two and its role in regulating emotions. Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the mediational role of psychological flexibility in interoceptive awareness and regulation of emotions in individuals diagnosed with somatoform disorder. Materials and Methods: The sample was obtained through purposive sampling from individuals clinically diagnosed with somatoform disorder, as per the International Classification of Diseases-10, Diagnostic Criteria for Research. Participants were selected based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria from various psychiatric hospitals in Delhi NCR, India. Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-2 (AAQ-2), Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA-2) and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) were administered. Results: Descriptive and inferential analyses of the data were done using SPSS version 28 with the significance level considered at 0.05. Psychological flexibility, interoceptive awareness, and emotion regulation were found to be significantly correlated with each other in individuals diagnosed with somatoform disorder. Further psychological flexibility was found to mediate between interoceptive awareness and emotional regulation in individuals diagnosed with somatoform disorder. Conclusions: Individuals diagnosed with somatoform disorder may benefit from altered treatment modules that also focus on enhancing their psychological flexibility along with cognitive and behavioral management.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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