Self-Reported Interoceptive Accuracy, Emotion Regulation, and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents

Theoretical Background: Interoceptive accuracy and emotion regulation are interrelated processes that play a crucial role in mental health. However, their interaction during childhood and adolescence remains under-researched, and there are no validated German-language self-report instruments for assessing interoceptive accuracy at these developmental stages. Objective: The study investigated the relationship between interoceptive accuracy, emotion regulation, and symptoms of psychopathology in children and adolescents. Specifically, we aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of a child-adapted version of the Interoceptive Accuracy Scale (IAS). We hypothesize that self-reported interoceptive accuracy is negatively correlated with symptoms of psychopathology, and that emotion regulation mediates the relationship between interoceptive accuracy and psychopathological symptoms. Method: Two separate cross-sectional online studies were conducted with a total of 131 children and adolescents ( N 1 = 65, N 2 = 66) aged 8 – 17 years ( M = 11.8, SD = 2.3) and their parents. Participants provided self-reports on interoceptive accuracy and psychopathological symptoms, while both self and parent assessments were utilized to evaluate emotion regulation strategies. Results: The adapted IAS-C demonstrated high internal consistency (ω = .87). IAS-C scores were negatively associated with maladaptive emotion regulation strategies as well as internalizing, externalizing, and somatoform symptoms. Mediation analysis revealed that self-reported maladaptive emotion regulation mediated the relationship between self-reported interoceptive accuracy and symptoms of psychopathology; however, no such mediation effect was observed for parent-reported emotion regulation. Discussion and Conclusion: The German version of the IAS-C appears to be a suitable and valuable instrument for assessing self-reported interoceptive accuracy in children and adolescents. The findings highlight the relationship between interoceptive accuracy, emotion regulation, and symptoms of psychopathology in youth.