The Berlin Misophonia Questionnaire (BMQ): Development and validation of a symptom-oriented diagnostical instrument for the measurement of misophonia

Abstract

Misophonia is a syndrome which is characterized by intense emotional and physical reactions to idiosyncratic sounds. However, its psychometric measurement is still in the early stages. The study presents the development of a German self-report instrument, the Berlin Misophonia Questionnaire (BMQ), and integrates contemporary empirical findings and the latest criteria of misophonia. Data of 952 individuals were gathered in an online study. The results of structural analyses, the assessment of internal consistency, and an analysis of the nomological network of misophonic symptoms supported the reliability and validity of the developed scales. Through the presented symptom-oriented modelling approach, every facet of misophonia is clearly and separately measurable. The final BMQ consists of 77 items in 21 scales, which were selected using Ant Colony Optimization algorithms. The study demonstrates several improvements in the measurement of misophonia by providing a multidimensional measurement of misophonic symptoms and therefore stimulates further research.