Abstract
Increasing attention is being paid to how adults on the autism spectrum perceive and interpret the interoceptive sense. This 20-item Interoception Sensory Questionnaire represents a single factor scale that can be interpreted as representing confusion about interoceptive bodily states unless these states are extreme (Alexisomia), and has been designed to discriminate across populations (total sample 511 participants). Findings showed that 74% of adults with autism reported interoceptive confusion. Another finding of the study was that as autistic traits increased, interoceptive confusion increased, with adults with diagnosed autism scoring highest on the construct. Implications for physiological self-regulation as well as physical health outcomes are discussed, as well as recommendations for future research.
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This paper has been prepared from the doctoral dissertation of Lisa Fiene.
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This research received funding from an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) Scholarship.
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This was a collaborative project between all authors. LF, MI, and CB designed the research project and methodology. LF created the online survey and recruited all participants. LF and MI completed the statistical analysis. LF wrote the initial draft and MI and CB refined to produce the final manuscript. All authors edited and approved the final submission.
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Ethical approval was gained from The University of Southern Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee, and full informed consent was provided by participants.
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Fiene, L., Ireland, M.J. & Brownlow, C. The Interoception Sensory Questionnaire (ISQ): A Scale to Measure Interoceptive Challenges in Adults. J Autism Dev Disord 48, 3354–3366 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3600-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3600-3