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. 2025 Jan-Dec:21:17455057251326013.
doi: 10.1177/17455057251326013. Epub 2025 Apr 28.

Attention to the body! Comparing the connection between interoceptive abilities and somatic complaints of women with and without history of intimate partner violence

Joana Machorrinho  1   2 , José Marmeleira  1   2 , Graça Duarte Santos  1   2 , Guida Veiga  1   2
Affiliations

Attention to the body! Comparing the connection between interoceptive abilities and somatic complaints of women with and without history of intimate partner violence

Joana Machorrinho et al. Womens Health (Lond). 2025 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Somatic complaints are a critical burden to women, particularly to those women who survived intimate partner violence (IPV). The way women feel, perceive, and relate to their own body, that is, interoception, seems to have a significant role in the pathway to somatic complaints. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has yet explored the relationship between interoception and somatic complaints of women survivors of IPV.

Objectives: To deepen the understanding of the underlying interoceptive mechanisms of somatic complaints experienced by women survivors of IPV.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Method: Women with (N = 44) and without (N = 52) history of IPV were assessed regarding interoceptive accuracy, interoceptive sensibility, and somatic complaints. Associations between both variables in each group were examined, and a hierarchical regression analysis assessed to what extent somatic complaints were explained by the interoceptive abilities, with the mediating role of IPV group membership.

Results: Women survivors of IPV reported more somatic complaints (p < 0.001), which were negatively associated with interoceptive attention regulation. The opposite association was found in women who have never experienced IPV. For the IPV group, the interoceptive attention regulation, added to age and the index of the violence suffered, explains 43% of the variance in somatic complaints.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that for women with history of IPV, but not for those without, the ability to regulate the attention given to bodily sensations is a mediator of women' somatic complaint. Thereby we suggest that interoceptive attention regulation can be a promising therapeutic aim, for women recovering from IPV.

Keywords: Portugal; attention regulation; domestic violence; interoception; somatic complaints.

Plain language summary

Regulating attention to bodily sensations contributes to decreasing the health complaints of women survivors of intimate partner violenceWhy was the study done? Women who suffered violence in an intimate relationship report more health complaints than women who have never suffered such violence. In general, it is known that different ways of feeling the body distinctively influence how many and how intensively one’s report health complaints. It is also known that women who suffered violence have a different way of feeling the body and its sensations. However, how this way of feeling influences the health complaints of women survivors of intimate partner violence remains unexplored. What did the researchers do? The research team studied different abilities of feeling the body of women with (44) and without (52) history of intimate partner violence. Also, the health complaints of each were assessed, and how those were influenced by feeling the body was examined. What did the researchers find? Women survivors of intimate partner violence reported more difficulties falling asleep, migraines, panic attacks, anxiety and attention and memory struggles. Furthermore, for women who have experienced this type of violence—but not for those who have not—greater ability to regulate attention toward the body (i.e., focusing on the body only when necessary) was associated with fewer health complaints. What do the findings mean? The findings suggest that for women who suffered intimate partner violence, health care must promote the ability to regulate the attention given to the body, helping women to have better health, better emotional regulation, and lower risk of developing negative symptoms.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Scatterplot of the relationship between somatic complaints and interoceptive attention regulation, per group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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