Network analysis of misophonia symptoms using the Duke Misophonia Questionnaire.

Background: Misophonia is a complex disorder characterized by a strong aversion to specific sounds, leading to significant distress and impairment. While the Duke Misophonia Questionnaire (DMQ) is one of the most comprehensive and validated measures for assessing misophonia, the relative importance of specific subscales and items within the DMQ remains unclear. Network analysis enables an understanding of the interconnections among subscales, providing insights into which parts of the measure are most central to the others. This study employed network analysis to examine the interconnections among DMQ subscales and identify the most central components of misophonia symptomatology.

Methods: Network analysis was conducted on DMQ data from 144 adults with varying levels of misophonia symptoms. Four network models were examined: overall misophonia, symptoms, beliefs, and impairment. Sex differences were also explored.

Results: The Impairment subscale emerged as the most central in the overall network for both males and females. Key items included cognitive reactions ("I need to get away from the sound," "I thought about physically hurting the person making the sound") as well as affective reactions (panic, anger) in the symptom sub-network, non-acceptance of misophonia beliefs ("I hate being like this") in the belief sub-network, and deterioration of self-esteem due to misophonia in the impairment sub-network. Females reported more severe cognitive and physiological symptoms than males.

Conclusions: The DMQ Impairment subscale and specific items identified as most central in each network may represent key aspects of misophonia symptomatology. Prioritizing these components in assessment and intervention efforts may be beneficial when appropriate.