Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of the 'Breathing Vigilance Questionnaire' (Breathe-VQ)

In the literature, assessment questionnaires related to dyspnea measure beliefs about breathing-related symptoms but do not directly measure breath awareness. For this purpose, the Breath Vigilance Questionnaire (BVQ) is a subjective questionnaire developed from the Pain Awareness Questionnaire that directly measures breath-specific awareness and includes questions evaluating the interaction between conscious monitoring and control of breathing and anxiety. The questionnaire, consisting of 6 questions, was developed on healthy individuals and its validity and reliability were established. It uses a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always), with scores ranging from 6 to 30, and higher scores indicate higher breath awareness .

The reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Breath Vigilance Questionnaire will assist researchers in assessing dysfunctional breathing and developing treatment strategies by evaluating breath awareness. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Healthy Adult Participants
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Survey using a questionnaire.

Detailed Description

The normal breathing pattern is a synchronized movement progressing from the thorax to the abdominal region, including the pelvis. Any breathing pattern outside of this synchronized movement is called an abnormal breathing pattern or dysfunctional breathing. In recent years, it has been defined as "a change in the normal biomechanical patterns of breathing resulting in intermittent or chronic symptoms related to breathing and/or non-breathing". A 2018 study reported that it was observed more frequently in up to 50% of COPD patients than in asthmatic and healthy individuals. However, it has been reported that respiratory dysfunction can also be observed idiopathically, without any underlying problem (cardiopulmonary or organic cause), and is seen in one out of every five people, due to psychological/behavioral factors such as anxiety, depression, perfectionism, feelings of inferiority.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 60

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: SEVAL TAMER; Phone Number: +90 506 865 42 68; Email: seval.tamer@ksbu.edu.tr

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Kütahya
    • Kütahya, Kütahya, Turkey (Türkiye), 43020
      • Kutahya Health Sciences University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy Participants

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• individuals without a self-reported diagnosis of respiratory and/or cardiac problems
• individuals without a COVID-19 diagnosis and/or chronic COVID syndrome ("long COVID") within the last 3 months (primary respiratory dysfunction is excluded as we are dealing with this)
• individuals who can read and write in Turkish

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals with symptomatic heart disease, a history of lung surgery, neurological disorders, and malignancies that may affect exercise performance, and those with severe cognitive impairment who have difficulty understanding and completing the questionnaire items will be excluded from the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
single group; descriptive study	Other: Survey using a questionnaire.; survey questions

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Nijmegan Questionnaire	the Nijmegan Questionnaire, whose Turkish validity and reliability were established by Aslıhan et al., is the most frequently used test for the subjective assessment of dysfunctional respiration. The questionnaire, which allows for the evaluation and description of unexplained respiratory symptoms and signs of hyperventilation, consists of 16 items related to different systems such as cardiovascular, neurological, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and psychological factors, answered on a 5-point scale from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). A score greater than 23 indicates respiratory dysfunction. It has a sensitivity and specificity of 91% and 95%, respectively, regarding the clinical diagnosis of hyperventilation.	first day

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
STAI	The Turkish translation of the scale, for which validity and reliability studies have been conducted, includes the State Anxiety Scale section, which aims to assess sudden changes in emotional reactions, and the Trait Anxiety Scale section, which aims to measure the persistence of anxiety that a person generally tends to experience. The 20-item questions in both sections are evaluated using a four-point Likert scale ranging from "Never" to "Completely". For the study, Form 2 will be used, with reference to the original article. In the scoring system, which ranges from 20 to 80 points, lower values indicate low anxiety levels and higher values indicate high anxiety levels.	first day

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Kutahya Health Sciences University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: SEVAL TAMER, Kutahya Health Sciences University

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• main article

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): April 10, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 10, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 10, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 6, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 15, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): April 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 22, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 15, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: breathing; Awareness; respiration; vigilance
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Respiration Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Respiratory Aspiration
• Other Study ID Numbers: Kütahya Health Sciences

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: I wasn't sure about its necessity.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No