Interoception and emotion regulation in children and adolescents: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Interoception, the perception of internal bodily states, plays a crucial role in emotional experience. While most research has examined emotion regulation (ER) in relation to cognitive factors, this systematic review highlights the novel link between interoception and ER in children and adolescents. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search identified 345 papers, of which five studies meeting the inclusion criteria were reviewed. Importantly, only studies employing a measure of interoception were included. Results revealed that in middle childhood and adolescence, interoceptive beliefs were significantly associated with specific ER strategies, and interoceptive accuracy was linked to a reduction in maladaptive strategies. In early childhood, interoceptive accuracy shows limited and inconsistent links to ER, with only trend-level findings emerging. These results underscore the relationship between interoception and adaptive ER strategies, highlighting the need for further research examining the specific interoceptive dimensions of this relationship across developmental stages.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Matthew Garner: orcid.org/0000-0001-9481-2226

ORCID for Gaby Pfeifer: orcid.org/0000-0002-8737-1255

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