Inwardly focused cognitive style as a link between Mental imagery and Mental Health

Variations in mental imagery ability has been linked to various emotional, cognitive and personality measures. However, a comprehensive theoretical framework is missing to account for these associations and their link to mental health. Here, we present evidence for a model of mental imagery centered around a putative "inwardly focused" cognitive style, which integrates a range of traits associated with visual imagery. By examining the association between self-reported imagery vividness and a diverse array of cognitive and personality questionnaire measures, we demonstrate that imagery is significantly correlated with interoceptive awareness and mindful presence, as well as the personality traits of openness, conscientiousness and extraversion. Canonical correlation analyses revealed that we could link these measures to a singular latent variable, which we propose reflects a latent inward trait or "inwardly focused" cognitive style. Canonical variates were stable across two datasets (n=298 and n = 293). In addition, the latent inward trait was negatively correlated with alexithymia (the inability to identify and express emotions) and positively correlated with the frequency of involuntary autobiographical memories. To further examine these relationships, we constructed a latent measure of negative mental health using depression, stress and neuroticism items. A path analysis revealed that the latent inward trait mediated the effects between imagery vividness and negative mental health via alexithymia and involuntary autobiographical memories, suggesting that the latent inward trait plays a crucial role in shaping how mental imagery impacts mental health, notably as it intersects with other important individual cognitive differences.