The Body Perception Questionnaire

The Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ)¹ is a standardized self-report questionnaire that assesses the frequency of specific body stress reactions in organs that are innervated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Though each unique part of the body may have its own reason for activation, the parts are linked by the ANS, a brain-body network that responds to everyday stress. Combined scores from organs throughout the body provide a measure of autonomic stress response patterns. The questionnaire has been used in a range of international neural, behavioral, and clinical studies and translated into several languages.

In our research, we have found that reporting more autonomic symptoms on the BPQ is associated with maltreatment and adversity history² ³, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms³, and has been corroborated with sensor-based measures of autonomic function assessed in our laboratory at Indiana University.⁴

Online Self-Scoring Form

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  • BPQ Manual V.2

    This document provides further information on theoretical background, questionnaire development, subscales, and scoring.

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  • BPQ Short Form

    This form includes the short versions of the Body Awareness and Autonomic Reactivity subscales.

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  • BPQ20-ANS

    This form includes only the Autonomic Symptoms scale. Includes instructions for scoring and interpretation.

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How do I use the BPQ in clinical practice?

For information on using the Body Perception Questionnaire in cilnical practice, please see our March 2023 newlsetter. In this newsletter, we explore how this tool allows clinicians to track ways in which a client’s body functions are impacted by stress or trauma, giving clues to what autonomic states a client is experiencing.

Translations

The BPQ has been translated into several languages including Spanish, Chinese, Hebrew, Italian, German, French, Italian, and more. Translated, formatted versions of the questionnaire will be posted to this page as they are completed.

Currently available translations:

 

Catalan

German

Japanese

Spanish

Dutch

French

Hebrew

Italian

Polish

Swedish

European Portuguese

Interested in Developing a Translation?

Scoring Code for R Statistical Software

R package for scoring all BPQ forms, calculating percentiles and T scores.

Access the github repository.

References

(1) Porges, S. W. (1993). Body perception questionnaire. Laboratory of Developmental Assessment: University of Maryland.

Cabrera, A., Kolacz, J., Pailhez, G., Bulbena-Cabre, A., Bulbena, A., & Porges, S. W. (2018). Assessing body awareness and autonomic reactivity: Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Body Perception Questionnaire-Short Form (BPQ-SF). International journal of methods in psychiatric research, 27(2), e1596.

(2) Kolacz, J., Hu, Y., Gesselman, A. N., Garcia, J. R., Lewis, G. F., & Porges, S. W. (2020a). Sexual function in adults with a history of childhood maltreatment: Mediating effects of self-reported autonomic reactivity. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy, 12(3), 281.

(3) Kolacz, J., Dale, L. P., Nix, E. J., Roath, O. K., Lewis, G. F., & Porges, S. W. (2020b). Adversity History Predicts Self-Reported Autonomic Reactivity and Mental Health in US Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in psychiatry, 11, 1119.

(4) Kolacz, J., Chen, X., Nix, E. J., Roath, O. K., Holmes, L. G., Tokash, C., Porges, S. W., & Lewis, G. F. (under review). The Body Perception Questionnaire Short Form (BPQ-SF): Relation to Sensor-Based Physiological Measures, Factor Analysis, and Derivation of U.S. Adult Normative Values.

Cerritelli F, Consorti G, D’Alessandro G, Galli M, Kolacz J, Porges SW. (under review) Cross-cultural adaptation and validity of the Italian version of the Body Perception Questionnaire.

Poli, A., Maremmani, A. G. I., Chiorri, C., Mazzoni, G. P., Orrù, G., Kolacz, J., ... & Miccoli, M. (2021). Item Reduction, Psychometric and Biometric Properties of the Italian Version of the Body Perception Questionnaire—Short Form (BPQ-SF): The BPQ-22. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), 3835.

Wang, N., Ren, F., & Zhou, X. (2020). Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Body Perception Questionnaire–Short Form (BPQ-SF) Among Chinese College Students. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1355.

Kobayashi R, Honda T, Machizawa M, Ichikawa N, Nakao T. (2021) Factor structure, reliability and validation of the Japanese version of the Body Perception Questionnaire-Body Awareness Very Short Form (BPQ-BAVSF-J). Japanese Journal of Research on Emotions, 28, 38–48.