Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness

Interoceptive awareness plays a fundamental role in emotion regulation and psychological well-being.

Questions: 32
Duration: 10 min
Original title: MAIA — Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness
Adaptation: Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness
Authors: Mehling, W.E., Price, C., Daubenmier, J.J., Acree, M., Bartmess, E. & Stewart, A.
Created: 2012

Interoceptive awareness plays a fundamental role in emotion regulation and psychological well-being. The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) provides clinicians with a nuanced profile of how a person relates to their internal somatic signals. Rather than measuring objective interoceptive accuracy like heartbeat detection, it captures the subjective and experiential relationship the individual has with their body.

Developed by Mehling and colleagues in 2012, this 32-item validated measure breaks down body awareness into eight distinct facets, distinguishing between simply noticing sensations and the regulatory strategies used when discomfort arises. For example, it highlights the clinical difference between noticing a sensation with anxiety versus noticing it with acceptance.

By capturing this complexity, the MAIA is particularly valuable in therapeutic approaches targeting nervous system regulation, trauma, anxiety, and eating disorders. It helps clinicians establish a baseline and track shifts in how patients inhabit their bodies over the course of care, ensuring that interventions remain closely aligned with the patient's evolving somatic capacities.

Example result

Fictitious result, computed from a sample set of answers.

The MAIA is a 32-item, 8-subscale state-trait questionnaire designed to measure multiple dimensions of interoception through self-report, published in November 2012. The eight subscales assess: the tendency to notice positive, negative, and neutral bodily sensations (Noticing); the tendency to acknowledge or ignore sensations of discomfort/pain (Not-Distracting); the extent to which sensations of discomfort provoke worry (Not-Worrying); the perceived degree of control and sustained attention toward bodily sensations (Attention Regulation); awareness of the links between bodily states and emotional states (Emotional Awareness); the tendency to soothe distress via attention to bodily sensations (Self-Regulation); active listening to bodily sensations for insight (Body Listening); and the extent to which bodily sensations are considered safe and trustworthy (Trusting). A useful tool in research and clinical practice, particularly with patients followed in mind-body approaches, mindfulness, chronic pain, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and somatic trauma.

Noticing (Noticing)

1.5/ 5

Perception of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral bodily sensations.

items 1, 2, 3, 4

généralemixed · community sample · United States · n = 325 · 2012 · Mehling et al. (2012)

1.5

M = 3.94 ± 0.59

cliniquemixed · pathology: Eating disorders · United States · n = 362 · 2017 · Brown et al. (2017)

1.5

M = 3.14 ± 1.15

Trusting (Trusting)

2/ 5

Experience of one's body as safe and trustworthy.

items 30, 31, 32

généralemixed · community sample · United States · n = 325 · 2012 · Mehling et al. (2012)

M = 4.13 ± 0.74

cliniquemixed · pathology: Eating disorders · United States · n = 362 · 2017 · Brown et al. (2017)

M = 1.73 ± 1.55

Not-Worrying (Not-Worrying)

2/ 5

Tendency not to worry or experience distress in response to sensations of pain or discomfort.

items 8, 9, 10

généralemixed · community sample · United States · n = 325 · 2012 · Mehling et al. (2012)

M = 3.27 ± 0.84

cliniquemixed · pathology: Eating disorders · United States · n = 362 · 2017 · Brown et al. (2017)

M = 2.39 ± 1.17

Body Listening (Body Listening)

3/ 5

Active listening to the body for insight.

items 27, 28, 29

généralemixed · community sample · United States · n = 325 · 2012 · Mehling et al. (2012)

M = 3.5 ± 0.87

cliniquemixed · pathology: Eating disorders · United States · n = 362 · 2017 · Brown et al. (2017)

M = 1.72 ± 1.35

Not-Distracting (Not-Distracting)

3/ 5

Tendency not to ignore or distract oneself from sensations of pain or discomfort.

items 5, 6, 7

généralemixed · community sample · United States · n = 325 · 2012 · Mehling et al. (2012)

M = 3.2 ± 0.87

cliniquemixed · pathology: Eating disorders · United States · n = 362 · 2017 · Brown et al. (2017)

M = 2.12 ± 1.18

Self-Regulation (Self-Regulation)

2.5/ 5

Ability to regulate psychological distress by paying attention to bodily sensations.

items 23, 24, 25, 26

généralemixed · community sample · United States · n = 325 · 2012 · Mehling et al. (2012)

2.5

M = 3.86 ± 0.74

cliniquemixed · pathology: Eating disorders · United States · n = 362 · 2017 · Brown et al. (2017)

2.5

M = 2.08 ± 1.34

Emotional Awareness (Emotional Awareness)

2.2/ 5

Awareness of the connection between bodily sensations and emotional states.

items 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

généralemixed · community sample · United States · n = 325 · 2012 · Mehling et al. (2012)

2.2

M = 4.16 ± 0.64

cliniquemixed · pathology: Eating disorders · United States · n = 362 · 2017 · Brown et al. (2017)

2.2

M = 2.88 ± 1.22

Attention Regulation (Attention Regulation)

2.714/ 5

Ability to sustain and control attention to bodily sensations.

items 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

généralemixed · community sample · United States · n = 325 · 2012 · Mehling et al. (2012)

2.714

M = 3.79 ± 0.64

cliniquemixed · pathology: Eating disorders · United States · n = 362 · 2017 · Brown et al. (2017)

2.714

M = 2.33 ± 1.22

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What the test measures

The MAIA assesses interoceptive awareness across eight distinct but interrelated dimensions, capturing both the sensory perception of bodily states and the cognitive and emotional reactions to them.

Noticing: The basic ability to perceive and identify physical sensations.
Not-Distracting: The tendency to stay present with rather than default to avoidance behavior when facing physical discomfort.
Not-Worrying: The capacity to experience unpleasant somatic signals without catastrophic thinking or emotional distress.
Attention Regulation: The ability to direct, sustain, and consciously control focus on internal physical states.
Emotional Awareness: The recognition of how emotional fluctuations manifest as physiological shifts.
Self-Regulation: The active use of body awareness and somatic focus to manage distress and stay within a functional window of tolerance.
Body Listening: The tendency to actively tune into somatic signals for insight into one's emotional or psychological state.
Trusting: The overarching sense that the body is a safe, reliable, and fundamentally sound anchor.

The instrument is validated for adults and is widely used across both general and clinical populations, particularly to guide and evaluate mind and body interventions.

When and why to use it

Clinicians incorporate the MAIA to evaluate how a patient relates to their physical experience and to guide the selection of targeted somatic exercises.

Intake baseline for somatic therapies: Provides a comprehensive profile of body awareness strengths and deficits to tailor treatment planning.
Monitoring intervention effects: Tracks longitudinal changes in response to mindfulness or trauma-informed care to see if a patient becomes less reactive to physical discomfort.
Targeting emotional dysregulation: Identifies whether a patient struggles to link their emotional states with physiological cues, guiding psychoeducation on the autonomic nervous system.
Differentiating hypervigilance from mindful awareness: Helps distinguish between anxious bodily monitoring and adaptive somatic grounding.

By breaking interoception into discrete regulatory and perceptual factors, a validated MAIA score offers a far more actionable map than a general clinical impression of being disconnected from the body.

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The questions

Below you will find a list of statements. Please indicate how often each statement applies to you generally in daily life.
1. When I am tense, I notice where the tension is in my body.
Assesses the ability to pinpoint localized physical tension.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
2. When something feels wrong in my body, I notice it.
Evaluates general awareness of physical discomfort.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
3. I notice where in my body I feel comfortable.
Explores the capacity to detect areas of somatic ease.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
4. I notice changes in my breathing, for example when it slows down or speeds up.
Measures perceptual sensitivity to respiratory fluctuations.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
5. I don't notice physical tension or discomfort until it becomes severe.
Probes the tendency to overlook early somatic warning signs.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
6. I distract myself from sensations of discomfort.
Assesses cognitive diversion as a response to physical unpleasantness.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
7. When I feel pain or discomfort, I try to overcome them.
Measures the drive to forcefully override distressing bodily sensations.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
8. When I feel physical pain, it stresses me out.
Evaluates emotional reactivity triggered by physical pain.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
9. I start to worry that something is wrong as soon as I feel the slightest discomfort.
Assesses catastrophic thinking linked to minor bodily discomfort.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
10. I can notice an unpleasant body sensation without worrying about it.
Explores the capacity for non-anxious observation of unpleasant sensations.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
11. I can pay attention to my breathing without being distracted by things happening around me.
Measures focused respiratory awareness in the presence of external stimuli.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
12. I can maintain awareness of my internal body sensations even when there is a lot going on around me.
Assesses the ability to sustain internal focus amidst environmental noise.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
13. When I'm in a conversation with someone, I can pay attention to my posture.
Evaluates somatic awareness maintained during social interaction.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
14. I can bring my attention back to my body when I am distracted.
Explores the capacity to intentionally regain somatic focus after an interruption.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
15. I can shift my attention from my thoughts to the feeling of my body.
Measures the ability to consciously shift focus from cognition to physical sensation.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
16. I can maintain awareness of my whole body even when a part of me is painful or uncomfortable.
Assesses global body awareness when localized pain competes for attention.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
17. I am able to consciously focus on my body as a whole.
Evaluates intentional, holistic somatic attention.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
18. I notice how my body changes when I am angry.
Explores physiological awareness specifically tied to feelings of anger.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
19. When something is wrong in my life, I can feel it in my body.
Measures the somatic recognition of overarching life stress.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
20. I notice that my body feels different after a calming experience.
Assesses awareness of the physical changes following a calming event.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
21. I notice that my breathing becomes free and easy when I feel comfortable.
Evaluates the connection between emotional comfort and respiratory ease.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
22. I notice how my body changes when I feel happy or joyful.
Explores physiological awareness linked to positive emotional states.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
23. When I feel overwhelmed, I can find a quiet place inside myself.
Measures the ability to locate an internal somatic anchor during emotional flooding.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
24. When I bring my attention to my body, I feel a sense of calm.
Assesses whether shifting attention to the body inherently produces a soothing effect.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
25. I can use my breath to reduce tension.
Evaluates the practical application of respiratory regulation to relieve stress.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
26. When I am caught up in my thoughts, I can calm my mind by focusing on my body and my breath.
Explores somatic focusing as a tool for mental de-escalation.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
27. I listen to my body for information about my emotional state.
Assesses the deliberate use of bodily signals to decode current emotions.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
28. When I'm upset, I take time to explore what I'm feeling in my body.
Measures the tendency to investigate physical sensations during emotional distress.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
29. I listen to my body to know what I need to do.
Evaluates reliance on somatic intuition to guide decision-making.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
30. I feel at home in my body.
Explores the overarching sense of inhabiting the body comfortably.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
31. I feel my body is a safe place.
Measures the fundamental perception of the body as a secure environment.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always
32. I trust my body's sensations.
Assesses global confidence in the validity of internal physical cues.
- Never
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Always