The psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Interoceptive Awareness Questionnaire (IAQ) among cardiovascular disease.

BACKGROUND: Interoceptive awareness (perception of body conditions and processes) and heart rate variability are connected physiologically in cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients. At present, there is no specific evaluation model for the perception of the physical state and processes of CVD patients in China.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to examine the reliability and validity of the Chinese Interoceptive Awareness Questionnaire (C-IAQ) for Chinese CVD patients.

METHODS: 160 CVD patients were recruited from a hospital in Hubei province using a convenient sampling method. A standard "forward-backward" translation method was applied to convert the C-IAQ into Mandarin. Split-half reliability and internal consistency were conducted by using reliability tests. Validity testing was conducted on the content, structure, and criterion-related validity. Criterion-related validity was assessed by using the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-III (ASI-III).

RESULTS: The research results indicate that the dual factor structure of the original C-IAQ has 19 items, including attention to unpleasant sensations (9 items) and awareness of neutral body sensations (10 items). Moreover, C-IAQ is positively correlated with ASI-III (r = 0.48, P<0.01). The entire scale has a Cronbach's α value of 0.85 and split-half dependability of 0.77.

CONCLUSION: The C-IAQ has favorable psychometric feature. Hence, it can be used to measure the interoceptive awareness of CVD patients.