Committee Chair

Howell, Ashley N.

Committee Member

Teaford, Max; Black, Kristen

Department

Dept. of Psychology

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Difficulty regulating emotions is common among young adults and is linked to stress, poorer mental health, and academic impairment. Interoception, the perception of internal bodily sensations, may support emotional resilience, yet prior work often measures only one facet at a time. This study examined how three interoceptive facets (sensibility, accuracy, and metacognitive awareness) relate to self-reported emotion regulation difficulties in college students (n = 98 survey; n = 73 heartbeat counting task). Sensibility was strongly and negatively associated with emotion regulation difficulties (r = −.58, p < .001), accounting for approximately 34% of the variance in total scores. Accuracy and metacognitive awareness were not significantly associated with these difficulties. Results suggest a divergence across interoceptive dimensions, wherein the subjective quality of a person’s relationship with bodily sensations, rather than objective accuracy or metacognitive insight, relates to emotion regulation. Findings support multidimensional interoceptive assessment and sensibility-focused research for emotional resilience.

Acknowledgments

I am deeply grateful to the many people who made this thesis possible. First, I thank my chair, Dr. Ashley Howell, whose guidance, patience, and confidence in my work carried me through every stage of this project. I am also thankful to my committee members, Dr. Max Teaford and Dr. Kristen Black, for their thoughtful feedback and generous encouragement. Their insight strengthened this work in ways I could not have achieved alone. I owe thanks as well to my fellow students and labmates, who offered support, perspective, and companionship throughout this process. Their willingness to listen and help made the hardest days lighter. Most of all, I thank my partner, Kay, whose steady love and belief in me sustained me from beginning to end, and my parents, Kristine and Monte, whose lifelong support made this achievement possible. I could not have done this without them.

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

12-2026

Keyword

Interoception; Emotion Regulation

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Date Available

8-1-2027

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Available for download on Sunday, August 01, 2027

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