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Alterations in interoception have been linked to psychopathology. Recent findings suggest that both the attention to and the accuracy of, interoceptive perceptions may be oppositely related to subclinical symptomatology. Thus, providing well-validated tools that tap into these interoceptive processes is crucial for understanding the relation between interoceptive processing and subclinical psychopathology. In the current study (N = 642), we aimed to (1) validate the German version of the Interoceptive Attention Scale (IATS; Gabriele et al., 2022), and (2) test the differential association of self-reported interoceptive attention and accuracy with subclinical symptomatology, including alexithymia, depressive, and anxious symptomatology. We observed that a one-factor solution is a well-fitting model for the IATS. Further, the IATS showed good internal consistency, convergent, and divergent validity, but poor test-retest reliability. Self-reported interoceptive attention and accuracy were unrelated to each other. However, IATS scores were positively related to all measures of psychopathology (except depressive symptomatology), whereas self-reported interoceptive accuracy scores showed negative or nonsignificant relations with these. Our data suggest that the IATS is a good instrument to measure self-report interoceptive attention in the German population. Further, we highlight the need to distinguish between constructs of interoception to better understand the relation between interoception and psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High levels of somatic symptom distress represent a core component of both mental and physical illness. The exact aetiology and pathogenesis of this transdiagnostic phenomenon remain largely unknown. The Affective Picture Paradigm (APP) represents an innovative experimental paradigm to study somatic symptom distress. Based on the HiTOP framework and a population-based sampling approach, associations between facets of somatic symptom distress and symptoms induced by the APP were explored in two studies (N1 = 201; N2 = 254) using structural equation bi-factor models. Results showed that the APP effect was significantly positively correlated with general somatic symptom distress (PHQ-15, HiTOP), cardio-respiratory symptoms (PHQ-15), as well as difficulties identifying feelings. In conclusion, negative affective cues in the APP can elicit somatic symptoms, particularly in people with higher levels of somatic symptom distress. Difficulties identifying feelings might contribute to this phenomenon. Results are compatible with a predictive processing account of somatic symptom perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]