Preliminary examination of the validity of a behavioral mindfulness measure in adults with advanced cancer and their family caregivers.
Palliative & Supportive Care July 6, 2026 Megan F Noonan, Catherine E Mosher, Ekin Secinti et al.
The breath counting task (BCT), a computerized measure of present-moment awareness based on breath-counting accuracy, has shown validity as a behavioral measure of mindfulness in healthy populations but remained untested in clinical contexts. In a preliminary evaluation with 55 patient-caregiver dyads randomized to a 6-week mindfulness intervention or usual care, the BCT's validity differed for patients and caregivers. Among caregivers, breath-counting accuracy increased over time in the mindfulness condition and remained stable in usual care, indicating sensitivity to intervention. Among patients, greater accuracy was moderately associated with better quality of life at 1-month follow-up (r = .57), supporting criterion validity.