J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.  2023 Feb;62(1):63-69. 10.4306/jknpa.2023.62.1.63.

Body Awareness in Patients With Depression and/or Anxiety Disorder

• Lee SJ
• Kim HB
• Huh HJ

• KMID: 2539673
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2023.62.1.63

Abstract

Objectives
The objective of the present study was to examine whether patients with severe depression and/or anxiety show a difference in the level of body awareness compared with that of healthy controls.
Methods
Outpatients (n=100) with a diagnosis of moderate to severe depression and/or anxiety and 42 healthy controls were included in the study. Body awareness was assessed with the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) scale, and other clinical characteristics like anxiety and depression were measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Patient Health Questionnaire, respectively. The data were analyzed using ANCOVA, and statistically significant differences between the two groups in both the overall MAIA score and subscale scores were documented.
Results
The overall MAIA scores of patients with depression and/or anxiety were significantly lower than that of healthy subjects. Specifically, the differences found in the subscales of trust, acceptance, attention-regulation, and return-to-body were significant, whereas the differences found in the subscales of notice and mind-to-body awareness were not.
Conclusion
These findings imply that the ability to monitor one’s own bodily sensations and to be aware of their connection with emotional states cannot serve as a marker for psychological well-being. Rather, it may be the aspects of attentional styles and attitudes toward bodily states that play a critical role in mental health. Further analyses examining the relationships between the subscales of body awareness and other psychological variables are deemed necessary.

Keyword

Interoception; Anxiety; Depression