Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012;7(11):e48230.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048230. Epub 2012 Nov 1.

The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA)

Wolf E Mehling  1 , Cynthia Price, Jennifer J Daubenmier, Mike Acree, Elizabeth Bartmess, Anita Stewart
Affiliations

The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA)

Wolf E Mehling et al. PLoS One. 2012.

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a multidimensional self-report measure of interoceptive body awareness. The systematic mixed-methods process involved reviewing the current literature, specifying a multidimensional conceptual framework, evaluating prior instruments, developing items, and analyzing focus group responses to scale items by instructors and patients of body awareness-enhancing therapies. Following refinement by cognitive testing, items were field-tested in students and instructors of mind-body approaches. Final item selection was achieved by submitting the field test data to an iterative process using multiple validation methods, including exploratory cluster and confirmatory factor analyses, comparison between known groups, and correlations with established measures of related constructs. The resulting 32-item multidimensional instrument assesses eight concepts. The psychometric properties of these final scales suggest that the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) may serve as a starting point for research and further collaborative refinement.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Iterative Sequence of Development and Testing of the MAIA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Baas LS, Beery TA, Allen G, Wizer M, Wagoner LE (2004) An exploratory study of body awareness in persons with heart failure treated medically or with transplantation. J Cardiovasc Nurs 19: 32–40. - PubMed
    1. Cioffi D (1991) Beyond attentional strategies: cognitive-perceptual model of somatic interpretation. Psychol Bull 109: 25–41. - PubMed
    1. Flink IK, Nicholas MK, Boersma K, Linton SJ (2009) Reducing the threat value of chronic pain: A preliminary replicated single-case study of interoceptive exposure versus distraction in six individuals with chronic back pain. Behav Res Ther 47: 721–728. - PubMed
    1. Mehling WE, Gopisetty V, Daubenmier J, Price CJ, Hecht FM, et al. (2009) Body awareness: construct and self-report measures. PLoS ONE 4: e5614. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mehling WE, Wrubel J, Daubenmier JJ, Price CJ, Kerr CE, et al. (2011) Body Awareness: a phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind-body therapies. Philos Ethics Humanit Med 6: 6. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types