Correction: Self-Reported Body Awareness: Validation of the Postural Awareness Scale and the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (Version 2) in a Non-clinical Adult French-Speaking Sample

Academic transparency and the integrity of psychological metrics took center stage in late 2026 as researchers formally issued a critical correction to a widely cited 2022 methodological study. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychology, the correction rectifies an oversight in the scoring methodology of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness, Version 2 (MAIA-2). The original study, which sought to validate the Postural Awareness Scale (PAS) and the MAIA-2 within a non-clinical, French-speaking adult population, contained an incomplete description regarding how reverse-scored items were handled across the tool’s diverse subscales.

While the update does not alter the fundamental conclusions of the original research or invalidate the broader validation of the French-language instruments, it provides precise technical clarity for researchers replicating or building upon the 2022 work. In the realm of quantitative psychology and psychometrics, where minor calculation parameters can shift statistical outcomes, such adjustments are vital for maintaining reproducibility and scientific rigor.

Background and Context of the Original Research

To understand the weight of this methodological clarification, one must look back at the original publication in Frontiers in Psychology (Volume 13) in 2022. Authored by L. Da Costa Silva, C. Belrose, M. Trousselard, B. Rea, E. Seery, C. Verdonk, A. M. Duffaud, and C. Verdonk, the initial paper addressed a persistent linguistic and cultural gap in psychological research: the availability of robust, validated tools to measure body awareness in French-speaking cohorts.

Body awareness, encompassing both proprioception (the sense of self-movement and body position) and interoception (the perception of internal bodily states such as heartbeat, respiration, and visceral sensations), plays a fundamental role in emotional regulation, mental health, and clinical interventions. Tools like the MAIA-2 and the PAS are gold standards in clinical and experimental settings, allowing researchers to quantify subjective experiences of the body. However, translating and validating these instruments for non-English-speaking populations requires meticulous cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric testing.

The 2022 study provided critical normative data and structural validity for French speakers, quickly becoming a reference point for European researchers studying psychosomatic health, mindfulness, and body-oriented therapies. Given its frequent citation, ensuring the absolute precision of its methodological parameters—such as item reversal protocols—remains paramount for investigators relying on its scoring algorithms.

Chronology of the Correction

The sequence of events leading to the official correction highlights the rigorous quality control mechanisms embedded within modern academic publishing.

• May 2022: The original validation study, titled Self-Reported Body Awareness: Validation of the Postural Awareness Scale and the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (Version 2) in a Non-clinical Adult French-Speaking Sample, is officially published in Frontiers in Psychology.
• Intervening Years (2022–2026): The paper is integrated into numerous studies examining interoceptive sensibilities across various European cohorts, serving as a methodological blueprint for French-speaking behavioral scientists.
• September 4, 2026: Authors formally submit a correction manuscript to address a discrepancy discovered within the Materials and Methods section concerning the MAIA-2 subscale calculations.
• September 11, 2026: Following editorial review, the correction is formally accepted by handling editor Sai-fu Fung of the City University of Hong Kong.
• October 5, 2026: The formal correction notice is published under Volume 17 of Frontiers in Psychology, updating the permanent digital record (DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1989051) and linking back to the original 2022 publication.

Technical Breakdown of the Error and the Fix

The heart of the correction centers on the MAIA-2, a multidimensional instrument comprising eight distinct subscales that measure various facets of interoceptive body awareness, such as Noticing, Not-Distracting, Not-Worrying, Attention Regulation, Emotional Awareness, Self-Regulation, Body Listening, and Trusting.

In psychological questionnaires, certain items are phrased inversely to mitigate response bias (acquiescence bias), requiring researchers to reverse the numerical value of the participant’s answer during data processing before calculating subscale averages.

In the 2022 publication, the Materials and Methods section under the subheading Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (Version 2) incorrectly stated:

"For each of the eight subscales, the score was counted by averaging the scores of items belonging to the subscale (items 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 were reversed)."

The corrected text, published in October 2026, accurately reflects the comprehensive scope of the reverse-scored items utilized in the data processing pipeline:

"For each of the eight subscales, the score was counted by averaging the scores of items belonging to the subscale (items 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 15 were reverse scored)."

By expanding the list to include items 10, 11, 12, and 15, the authors ensure that future replications and secondary analyses match the exact computational framework originally employed to yield the study’s validated psychometric properties.

Academic Implications and Methodological Rigor

While a nine-item correction on a psychological inventory might seem esoteric to the general public, it holds significant weight within quantitative psychology and psychometrics. In large-scale quantitative studies, minor omissions in procedural documentation can trigger cascading replication failures if independent research groups attempt to duplicate a study’s exact syntax without knowing the complete set of data-cleaning parameters.

Methodology experts note that self-correction in academic literature is a sign of a healthy, self-policing scientific ecosystem. Rather than waiting for discrepancies to surface in adversarial meta-analyses, proactive transparency by original authors preserves trust in the broader body of literature.

Furthermore, the correction reinforces the importance of open science frameworks. As digital journals increasingly adopt continuous publishing models and dynamic cross-referencing, errata and corrections are immediately linked to historical versions of records, ensuring that scholars accessing the work via persistent identifiers like Crossref and DOI networks are instantly alerted to methodological updates.

Broader Impact on Interoceptive Research in Europe

The ongoing validation of French-language psychological tools carries direct implications for clinical practice, particularly in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada. Interoception is increasingly recognized as a core mechanism in clinical psychology, underpinning conditions such as anxiety disorders, eating disorders, chronic pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Therapies that focus on body awareness—including somatic experiencing, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and trauma-sensitive yoga—rely heavily on accurate measurement tools to track patient progress. When clinicians and researchers deploy the French adaptation of the MAIA-2, they depend on the foundational work established by Da Costa Silva and colleagues.

By clarifying the exact mechanics of the MAIA-2 subscale scoring, the research team ensures that clinical researchers and academic investigators working with French-speaking populations can proceed with total confidence in their quantitative instruments. The update guarantees that methodological transparency matches the clinical utility of the scales, solidifying their standing as reliable tools for psychological and somatic evaluation.