Assessment
February 29, 2008
Ruth A. Baer, Gregory T. Smith, Emily L. B. Lykins et al.
2,933 citations
Mindfulness as measured by self-report includes five component skills: observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging of inner experience, and nonreactivity to inner experience, assessed with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). The authors examined the construct validity of the FFMQ in experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups. Most mindfulness facets were significantly related to meditation experience and to psychological symptoms and well-being. The relationship between the observing facet and psychological adjustment varied with meditation experience. Several facets independently predicted well-being and mediated the relationship between meditation experience and well-being, supporting the FFMQ's construct validity in these samples.
Journal of Clinical Psychology
March 6, 2009
James Carmody, Ruth A. Baer, Emily L. B. Lykins et al.
528 citations
A theory proposes that mindfulness training works by changing how people relate to their experiences, a process called reperceiving, which then improves self-regulation, values clarity, mental flexibility, and exposure to experiences, leading to better health. Testing this with participants in a mindfulness-based stress-reduction program did not support that changes in reperceiving alone explained how mindfulness affected those four factors. However, when mindfulness and reperceiving scores were combined, there was partial support that those four factors helped reduce psychological distress. The text discusses difficulties in measuring these concepts.
The Journal of Positive Psychology
April 11, 2012
Ruth A. Baer, Emily L. B. Lykins, Jessica R. Peters
391 citations
Both mindfulness and self-compassion appear to contribute independently to psychological wellbeing, and together they fully explain the link between meditation experience and wellbeing. In a cross-sectional comparison of 77 experienced meditators and 75 matched nonmeditators, most mindfulness and self-compassion scores correlated significantly with meditation experience and wellbeing. The relationship between meditation experience and wellbeing was entirely accounted for by combined mindfulness and self-compassion scores, suggesting that these skills may be key mechanisms through which mindfulness training improves wellbeing. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Assessment
December 30, 2010
Ruth A. Baer, Douglas B. Samuel, Emily L. B. Lykins
95 citations
The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire shows minimal differential item functioning (DIF) when comparing demographically matched meditators and nonmeditators. A prior study had reported high DIF for 18 of 39 items in unmatched samples, with meditators more likely to endorse positively worded items and nonmeditators more likely to deny negatively worded reverse-scored items. This replication used matched samples of 115 meditators and 115 nonmeditators and found little or no evidence for DIF or differential relationships between positively and negatively worded items. The findings suggest that scoring direction does not bias comparisons of demographically similar meditators and nonmeditators on this questionnaire.
Religion and Spirituality Across Cultures
January 1, 2014
Emily L. B. Lykins
6 citations
Spiritual engagement is linked to well-being, and mindfulness—paying attention to the present moment with acceptance—is increasingly recognized as important in this relationship. Mindfulness and spirituality are overlapping but distinct constructs that likely interact and support each other's growth. Both serve as key mechanisms through which mindfulness-based interventions improve wellness. Because mindfulness meditation can induce an altered state of consciousness, other methods of inducing such states may also hold therapeutic potential.