The validity and reliability study of Turkish version of body perception questionnaire

The present study aims to determine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ) through the Turkish translation of the questionnaire and the intercultural adaptation. The Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ) is a self-report measure of body awareness and autonomic reactivity. Its items are based on the organization of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), a set of neural pathways connecting the brain and body. These pathways send information from the body about the status of organs and tissues (i.e., afferent projections). Some of these incoming signals form a basis for the subjective awareness of the body. The ANS also carries signals that control the functions of these organs and tissues (i.e., efferent projections). These signals can alter the functions of the body, depending on internal and external needs. The study includes 175 healthy participants and 120 participants with anxiety. Beaton's 6-step procedure was used for translation and intercultural adaptation. After the steps of the procedure were completed, the questionnaire was finalized. The tests were carried out to measure the internal consistency and the validity and reliability analyses showed that the BPQ measure was found to be highly reliable. It has been observed that the scale items could be grouped under 3 factors in the Varimax Rotation Exploratory Factor Analysis and the BPQ variance could be explained by 63.56%. The repeatability and the temporal invariance of BPQ have been studied through biweekly tests and repeated test applications and the invariance was found out to be on an good level. It was found that BPQ is a sensitive measure distinguishing the healthy people and people with anxiety (p<0,001). As a result, it was found that BPQ is a valid and reliable questionnaire in Turkish that can be used to evaluate the body perception of the adults.