Objectives: The aim of this study was to validate the Polish version of the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS-PL) and examine its psychometric properties in clinical and non-clinical samples. Methods: The study included 1128 participants (711 healthy adults, 194 cardiac patients, 223 psychiatric patients). The analyses were categorized into exploratory and confirmatory phases. Exploratory analyses were conducted on a randomly selected sample that comprised 60% of the study participants (training sample) to estimate the reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) and factorial validity (EFA with varimax rotation). Confirmatory analyses were performed on an independent (test) sample that represented 40% of the total sample size to facilitate the cross-validation of the factor structure (CFA) and to assess the convergent and discriminant validities (using the HTMT method) in relation to health anxiety (SHAI) and psychopathological symptoms (KOFF-58). Additionally, measurement invariance was examined with respect to gender (female vs. male) and health status (healthy vs. clinical). Results: The SSAS-PL demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0.75–0.78) after removing item 1. A one-factor structure showed the best fit and theoretical interpretability. The measurement invariance was supported across clinical groups. The SSAS-PL showed convergent validity with the measures of somatic symptoms, anxiety, and health anxiety. It demonstrated discriminant validity from other psychopathology measures. Conclusions: The SSAS-PL was a reliable and valid measure of somatosensory amplification in the Polish population. Its unidimensional structure aligned with most cross-cultural adaptations. The scale may be useful for assessing somatosensory amplification in both research and clinical settings in Poland. Further research on its utility in specific clinical populations is warranted.

Background: Although the concepts of meteoropathy and meteosensitivity are not included in official classifications, such as the ICD-11 or DSM-5, they are increasingly being studied as potential symptom complexes linking weather variability to health status. The METEO-Q questionnaire, originally developed in Italy, has been adapted in Japan and Turkey, where it has demonstrated satisfactory reliability parameters, although the authors emphasized the need for further verification of the tool’s temporal stability. The present study aimed to adapt METEO-Q to the Polish language and conduct a critical assessment of its factor structure, measurement invariance, and validity in clinical groups. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 1128 adults: healthy individuals (n = 711), cardiac outpatients (n = 194), and subclinical group with diagnosed mental disorders (n = 223). Data from healthy participants were divided into a training sample (n = 426) for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a test sample (n = 285) for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Measurement invariance was assessed in the clinical groups. Validity was verified through correlations with a list of 21 symptoms and measures of anxiety and worry about climate change. Results: A two-factor model (meteoropathy and meteosensitivity) was better fitted to the data than a one-factor model, which is consistent with findings from Italian, Japanese, and Turkish studies. However, absolute fit indices in the test sample indicated significant model misfit [CFA: χ² (43) = 210.192, p < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.120, CFI = 0.927], suggesting the presence of local errors in the tool’s structure. The reliability of the subscales was high (α from 0.86 to 0.93). Multi-group analyses suggested metric and scalar invariance. Patients with mental disorders obtained the highest scores, while cardiac outpatients reported a lower level of meteoropathy (M = 6.13) than healthy individuals (M = 7.24). Conclusions: METEO-Q demonstrates a stable two-factor structure and high internal consistency. The obtained RMSEA index (0.12), although indicative of some misfit, is similar to results obtained in other adaptations, such as the Japanese (RMSEA = 0.10) and the Turkish (RMSEA = 0.11), which suggests it is a consistent feature of this tool across different cultural contexts. Accordingly, the instrument is suitable for research purposes; however, its clinical application requires considerable caution and further work to optimize the model.

Background: The mental health effects associated with weather conditions are diverse, indicating that individual susceptibility may play a significant role in this relationship. This study investigates whether somatosensory amplification is linked to meteosensitivity, meteoropathy, and psychopathological symptoms and whether meteoropathy and meteosensitivity serve as mediators in this relationship. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 523 participants from the general population. Psychopathological symptoms were assessed with the GFQ-58, somatosensory amplification with the SSAS-PL, and meteoropathy and meteosensitivity with the METEO-PL. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine whether somatosensory amplification, meteoropathy, and meteosensitivity explained variance in psychopathological symptoms. A multiple mediator model was then estimated within the structural equation modeling framework using bootstrapping. The model was also tested separately for each of the 13 GFQ-58 symptom domains. Results: Somatosensory amplification accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in psychopathological symptoms (R² = 0.247, p < 0.001). Upon incorporating meteoropathy and meteosensitivity, the explained variance increased to R² = 0.571 (p < 0.001), with the increment being statistically significant (F(2, 521) = 32.12, p < 0.001). The indirect effect of somatosensory amplification via meteoropathy and meteosensitivity was significant (b = 0.851, 95% CI [0.661, 1.042], p < 0.001), and the direct effect also remained significant (b = 0.385, 95% CI [0.177, 0.594], p < 0.001), indicating partial statistical mediation. Significant indirect effects were also observed for poor social relationships, cognitive impairments, depressive symptoms, manic symptoms, anxiety symptoms, eating disorder symptoms, sleep problems, and somatic symptoms. Conclusions: Meteoropathy and meteosensitivity may partially account for the association between somatosensory amplification and psychopathological symptoms. The findings indicate that susceptibility to weather-related symptoms may be pertinent to the association between amplified bodily experiences and specific psychopathological symptoms.

Virtual reality offers a promising avenue for the assessment of executive functioning in complex workplace environments. However, its use in schizophrenia remains limited. For that reason, we investigated the validity and test-retest reliability of the Jansari assessment of Executive Functions (JEF^©) in individuals with schizophrenia and its associations with competitive employment. A total of 69 participants with schizophrenia and 67 healthy controls completed JEF^© and standard tests. A subsample of 58 patients was retested after an 8-week interval. Individuals with schizophrenia performed more poorly than controls on JEF^© (p < 0.001) and standard tests (p < 0.05). JEF^© scores correlated with standard measures (p < 0.05), except inhibition tests, and with clinician-report of everyday problems (p < 0.001). Total score showed a good test-retest reliability and the practice adjusted RCI indicated 87.9% of patients remained stable over 8 weeks. In logistic regression, higher JEF^© total score significantly predicted competitive employment after adjusting for age (p = 0.004) and remained significant when years of education were added (p = 0.014). This comprehensive evaluation indicates that JEF^© is a valid and reliable tool assessing executive functions required in office work and offers an ecologically relevant complement to standard measures in schizophrenia.