ABSTRACT
Most adults use inner speech, the little voice in one’s head, in daily life, but the experience of inner speech is not well understood for adults in middle and older age. Here, we used an adapted online version of the General Inner Speech Questionnaire to examine inner speech use in a group of 126 adults age 40 and above. Results confirm that middle- and older-aged adults use inner speech regularly for a variety of expected topics/purposes, such as executive functioning, emotional processing, and self-reflection. An exploratory factor analysis reveals nine dimensions in the questionnaire, with “emotions and the past” perhaps being the most salient factor. Finally, comparison to previous work in young adults reveals some meaningful differences, including that older adults report less frequent use of inner speech. Together, these findings provide preliminary insight into the experience of inner speech in adults across the lifespan.