Improving a body-awareness questionnaire to better spot disordered eating
Official title: Optimizing the Validity of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness to Predict Disordered Eating
Funded at Nova Southeastern University · NIH-11322988 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project improves a questionnaire that measures how adults notice signals from inside their body so it can more reliably link body-awareness to disordered eating.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Nova Southeastern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Fort Lauderdale-Davie, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | April 1, 2024 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $154,000 |
| NIH project number | 5R16GM153679-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11322988 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 21 and older, including people with or at risk for disordered eating as well as healthy adults who can complete self-report questionnaires, would be ideal participants.
✕Less likely to help
People under 21, those unable to complete surveys, or individuals with conditions unrelated to body-awareness are unlikely to directly benefit from this project.
What this research studies
You would complete the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) and other surveys so researchers can check which questions work the same for different people. The team will analyze responses from adults across demographic groups and use statistical methods to test the MAIA's underlying structure. They will identify items that are biased or unreliable and revise the questionnaire to improve its validity. The goal is a more accurate tool for use in mind-body programs and eating-disorder research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the improved questionnaire could help clinicians and researchers better identify body-awareness problems linked to eating disorders and tailor mind-body treatments more effectively.
How similar studies have gone: Previous large psychometric work (N=1294) supports the MAIA's eight-dimension structure but also found measurement differences across groups, so this project builds on existing evidence while addressing known validity problems.
Where this research is happening
-
Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale-Davie, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mensinger, Janell Lynn — Nova Southeastern University
- Study coordinator: Mensinger, Janell Lynn
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.