Similarities and Differences in Interoceptive Bodily Awareness Between US-American and Japanese Cultures: A Focus-Group Study in Bicultural Japanese-Americans

Body Aware: Adolescents' and Young Adults' Lived Experiences of Body Awareness

Paying attention to body sensations has been associated with many positive outcomes such as increased subjective well-being, enhanced emotion regulation, and reduced symptom reports. Furthermore, body awareness has an important therapeutic utility in the treatment of various psychological ailments. Despite its importance in mental health, there is very little research on body awareness during adolescence and young adulthood - important developmental periods characterized by bodily changes and the development of one's relationship to one's body. Therefore, the present qualitative study sought to explore how body awareness is understood, experienced, and described by adolescents and young adults. Four online focus groups were conducted with young people between the ages of 14 and 24 (N = 20). Thematic analyses revealed a multidimensional and highly contextualized understanding and experience of body awareness in this age group. In general, young people reported mainly attending to intense and unpleasant body sensations with a particular attitude (e.g., accepting or avoidant) depending on the type of sensation, leading to a variety of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to these sensations. These processes were embedded in an underlying schema of beliefs about body awareness and an overarching physical and socio-cultural context. Results further revealed a more nuanced experience and understanding of body awareness in women and in young adults. The present findings can be used as a foundation for the development of body awareness theoretical frameworks and self-report instruments for youth and can aid the generating of hypotheses for future research on body awareness in this age group.

The effect of anthropometric measurements and muscle endurance of the trunk and lower extremities on anatomic body awareness in healthy individuals with different levels of physical activity

BACKGROUND

The interaction between anthropometric measurements and muscular endurance and how these factors manifest in anatomical body awareness have not yet been fully investigated. It was aimed to examine the relationship between physical activity, body anthropometric measurements and endurance and anatomical body awareness in healthy individuals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 217 individuals aged 19-40 participated in the study. Participants were categorized into inactive (n = 65), minimally active (n = 80), and sufficiently active (n = 72) groups based on the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ). Anthropometric measurements including shoulder, abdomen, waist, and hip circumferences were taken. Participants' trunk muscle endurance and lower extremity endurance was assessed through various tests. Anatomic body awareness was evaluated using the Body Awareness Questionnaire (BAQ) with established validity.

RESULTS

While no significant difference in shoulder circumference measurements was found between the inactive and minimally active groups (p > 0.05), the sufficiently active group showed significantly higher shoulder circumference measurements compared to the other groups (p < 0.05). Significant differences were observed among all endurance tests between the groups (p < 0.05). Participants' body endurance increased significantly with higher activity levels. Moreover, anatomic body awareness exhibited significant variation among the three groups (p < 0.05), with the sufficiently active group having the highest level of anatomic body awareness. Positive correlations were found between all endurance tests and anatomic body awareness (p < 0.05), as well as a positive correlation between physical activity levels and anatomic body awareness (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

It is suggested that physical performance and endurance increase anatomical body awareness when applied with appropriate treatment methods, can be applied for a healthier life and can be an additional application in the clinical environment.

Bonding with bump: Interoceptive sensibility moderates the relationship between pregnancy body satisfaction and antenatal attachment

PROBLEM

There is limited understanding and contradictory results regarding the contribution of the pregnant bodily experience to antenatal attachment.

BACKGROUND

Antenatal attachment is an important aspect of pregnancy, which has been linked with positive maternal and infant outcomes. Given the profound physical process of pregnancy, it is likely that bodily experience is implicated in antenatal attachment, with research supporting the involvement of pregnancy body (dis)satisfaction. However, previous research reveals conflicting results and has only focused on exteroceptive bodily experience (appearance) rather than internal physiological sensations (interoception).

AIM

To examine the relative contributions of both external and internal bodily experience in antenatal attachment.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study collected online survey data from 159 pregnant participants with measures capturing interoceptive sensibility (subjective experience of interoception), pregnancy body dissatisfaction and antenatal attachment.

FINDINGS

We replicated previous findings that pregnancy body dissatisfaction is related to antenatal attachment. However, the relationship between pregnancy body dissatisfaction and antenatal attachment was moderated by worry about interoceptive signals. The interoceptive construct of body trust was most strongly associated with antenatal attachment.

DISCUSSION

The results suggest that interoception is important for antenatal attachment, particularly feelings of body trust. Moreover, for individuals who were less worried about bodily sensations, high levels of body dissatisfaction were associated with low attachment scores, whilst for those who were more concerned about these sensations, the relationship between body dissatisfaction and antenatal attachment was mitigated.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that focusing on internal sensations may be a protective strategy against pregnancy body dissatisfaction to strengthen maternal bonds.

A Pilot Feasibility Study of Reconnecting to Internal Sensations and Experiences (RISE), a Mindfulness-Informed Intervention to Reduce Interoceptive Dysfunction and Suicidal Ideation, among University Students in India

Although 20% of the world’s suicides occur in India, suicide prevention efforts in India are lagging (Vijayakumar et al., 2021). Identification of risk factors for suicide in India, as well as the development of accessible interventions to treat these risk factors, could help reduce suicide in India. Interoceptive dysfunction—or an inability to recognize internal sensations in the body—has emerged as a robust correlate of suicidality among studies conducted in the United States. Additionally, a mindfulness-informed intervention designed to reduce interoceptive dysfunction, and thereby suicidality, has yielded promising initial effects in pilot testing (Smith et al., 2021). The current studies sought to replicate these findings in an Indian context. Study 1 (n = 276) found that specific aspects of interoceptive dysfunction were related to current, past, and future likelihood of suicidal ideation. Study 2 (n = 40) was a small, uncontrolled pre-post online pilot of the intervention, Reconnecting to Internal Sensations and Experiences (RISE). The intervention was rated as highly acceptable and demonstrated good retention. Additionally, the intervention was associated with improvements in certain aspects of interoceptive dysfunction and reductions in suicidal ideation and eating pathology. These preliminary results suggest further testing of the intervention among Indian samples is warranted.

Cultural Differences in Digital Game Experiences

The literature proposes that East Asians have a holistic view focusing on both salient objects and their backgrounds, whereas Westerners maintain an analytic view paying attention to focal objects and their attributes. Moreover, East Asians stress interdependency of self, while Westerners emphasize independency of self. The current study examined how cultural differences in world views and self-construals influence players' digital game experience, including visual attention, avatar identification, sense of agency, and spatial presence. Supporting the hypotheses, results showed that South Korean participants, compared to European participants, did pay greater attention to background objects, feel greater spatial presence, and lower agency over their avatar. Participants also differed in the association between spatial presence and enjoyment: spatial presence positively predicted enjoyment for South Korean participants, but not for European participants. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.