Van Bael, Kristen ORCID: 0000-0002-6646-1067 (2024) Uniting the Mind and Body in Psychological Measurement: The Influence of Mind-Body Connections on Indicators of Emotional Functioning. PhD thesis, Victoria University.

Abstract

Atypical interoceptive and emotional processing increasingly characterise various pathophysiologies and psychopathologies, indicating their growing importance in clinical and research settings. These functions inform case conceptualisation, treatment, and the development of embodied understandings of mechanisms underlying such pathologies. Assessing the mind-body connection requires information on three salient constituents: subjective interoception, alexithymia, and mind-body beliefs. Each represents a transdiagnostic risk factor and determinant of health-promoting behaviours. However, current assessment tools lack a unified approach to these factors within existing self-reports and conceptualisations. This thesis bridges the gap between mind and body in psychological measurement, involving construct and measurement validation with four aims: (1) elucidate the salient psychological constituents of the mind-body connection; (2) clarify the association between specific aspects of self-reported interoception and alexithymia; (3) develop and validate a new self-report questionnaire to measure the hypothesised psychological constituents of the mind-body connection; and (4) examine how mind-body connection constituents influence typical experiences of positive and negative emotions. To address these aims, the research comprises three interrelated studies. Paper 1 addresses the first two aims through a systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between specific aspects of self-reported interoception and alexithymia at global and facet levels. Synthesising findings from numerous studies, this paper quantifies this proposed relationship and highlights the intricate interplay between emotional, cognitive, and physiological processes. It demonstrates that interoceptive deficits are critical in difficulty identifying and describing feelings in alexithymia, warranting their assessment in clinical settings. The findings affirm the importance of concurrently capturing subjective interoception and alexithymia in self-report measures as salient psychological constituents of the mind-body connection. Paper 2 addresses the first and third aims, detailing the development and preliminary psychometric evaluation of the Body-Mind Connection Questionnaire (BMCQ), developed to operationalise the notion that the mind-body connection involves three salient components: (a) Interoceptive Attention, (b) Sensation-Emotion Articulation, and (c) Body-Mind Values. The study outlines the item generation process and exploratory factor analyses, which established a 3-factor model. Reliability and validity analyses demonstrate the BMCQ’s robust psychometric properties, including internal consistency and construct validity. Paper 3 addresses the third and fourth aims, validating the BMCQ through confirmatory factor analysis and identifying distinct latent mind-body connection profiles. These profiles are explored in relation to typical emotional experiences, including emotional reactivity and regulation. The findings confirm that the BMCQ reliably captures the three components identified in Paper 2. The study also delineates profiles characterised by varying levels of mind-body connection and integration, offering insights into the practical implications of mind-body connection in daily life and clinical practice. The thesis concludes by clarifying the conceptualisation and measurement of subjective interoception, leading to proposals for a psychometrically robust construct validity framework to promote greater construct-measurement congruence, enhance the reliability and validity of assessments, and enable more clinically meaningful interpretations. The BMCQ emerges as a valid, reliable tool for assessing mind-body integration, facilitating a more unified approach than previously available. The thesis concludes with recommendations for individualising treatment based on mind-body connection profiles, promoting adaptive interoceptive and emotional functioning in dynamic environments.

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