Psychosomatic Competence Inventory: a novel self-report measure on interoceptive awareness, cognitive appraisal and conscious self-regulation

Background: Interoception and cognitive appraisal of bodily signals go along with conscious self-regulatory behaviour. The interrelation of these factors is still insufficiently understood although it is known to be relevant for health and disease. Therefore, we set out to develop a novel self-report measure targeting this link. Methods: Item development was theoretically based on the multidimensional conceptual framework of the Psychosomatic Intelligence hypothesis. It included an iterative process of refinement of items and item selection by analysing focus group responses and a cognitive survey. In a pre-test a principal components analysis (PROMAX rotation) and item analysis were calculated for item reduction. In the field test an item response theory approach was used for development of final scales and items. For validation purposes, associations with established measures of related constructs were analysed. Results: The final 44 item questionnaire consists of six interrelated scales: (1) Interoceptive awareness, (2) Mentalization, (3) Body-related cognitive congruence, (4) Body-related health literacy, (5) General self-regulation, and (6) Stress experience and stress regulation. These scales resemble the dimensions of the Psychosomatic Intelligence hypothesis. Psychometric properties of this instrument demonstrate good model fit, internal consistency and construct validity. According to the validation, the final version of the instrument measures a form of competence rather than intelligence; therefore, it was termed Psychosomatic Competence Inventory. Conclusions: The theory-driven development and good psychometric properties of the Psychosomatic Competence Inventory suggest that this instrument may serve to support prospective research in body-related self-regulatory behaviour and associated interoceptive and cognitive skills.