{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T04:53:59Z","timestamp":1787806439551,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,5]],"date-time":"2024-07-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1720137600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["EJIHPE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The Visceral Sensitivity Index (VSI) represents a significant advancement in the assessment of gastrointestinal-specific anxiety among patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)\u2014such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn\u2019s disease. However, an Italian version of the instrument is not yet available for the Italian-speaking population. This study utilized a national sample of 500 individuals divided into four groups: (a) patients with Crohn\u2019s disease, (b) patients with ulcerative colitis, (c) patients with IBS, and (d) healthy controls (individuals without any diagnoses) to test the validity and reliability of the Italian VSI. Using back-translation methodology to ensure translation fidelity, this research applied a questionnaire and the VSI through an online format to 500 participants. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) revealed that the Italian VSI had excellent psychometric properties, demonstrating high internal consistency (Cronbach\u2019s \u03b1 = 0.949) and construct validity. The scale proved sensitive in detecting significant differences in visceral sensitivity among groups, highlighting its utility as a clinical and research assessment tool. Specifically, the Italian VSI exhibited a unidimensional factorial structure and maintained a strong correlation with interoceptive awareness, type of disease, and gastrointestinal symptom severity, confirming its role in enhancing the understanding and management of IBD and IBS in Italy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe14070130","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,9]],"date-time":"2024-07-09T15:27:20Z","timestamp":1720538840000},"page":"1953-1968","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["VISCERAL SENSITIVITY INDEX (VSI-IT): Italian Adaptation and Validation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6229-6463","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amelia","family":"Rizzo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cognitive Sciences, Psychological, Educational, and Cultural Studies, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-6470-7381","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aurora","family":"Mautone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aldo","family":"Sitibondo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Unit, University Hospital \u201cG. Martino\u201d, 98124 Messina, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gabriella","family":"Nucera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, ASST Fatebenefratelli and Sacco, 20121 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9931-5621","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Livio","family":"Tarchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, 50127 Florence, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hicham","family":"Khabbache","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences F\u00e8s-Sa\u00efss, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30050, Morocco"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5043-9677","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Driss","family":"Ait Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences F\u00e8s-Sa\u00efss, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30050, Morocco"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3011-0812","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Khalid","family":"Ouazizi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences F\u00e8s-Sa\u00efss, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez 30050, Morocco"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0973-5455","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u0141ukasz","family":"Szarpak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Research and Development, LUXMED Group, 02-676 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2140-9732","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michal","family":"Pruc","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Research and Development, LUXMED Group, 02-676 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1089-1380","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Murat","family":"Y\u0131ld\u0131r\u0131m","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Letters, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University, A\u011fr\u0131 04100, T\u00fcrkiye"},{"name":"Department of Social and Educational Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut 1102-2801, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8737-4368","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesco","family":"Chirico","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Post-Graduate School of Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, 00168 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2036.2004.02007.x","article-title":"The Visceral Sensitivity Index: Development and validation of a gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety scale","volume":"20","author":"Labus","year":"2004","journal-title":"Aliment. 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