Latent Profile Analysis of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) Subscales in a Naturalistic Sample of Patients with Past or Present Major Depression: A Replication and Extension Study

Abstract Objectives Mindfulness is a multifaceted concept which might be best captured by person-centered profiles rather than by variable-centered assessment of its subcomponents. Patients with different mindfulness profiles may vary in mental health status and might experience differential clinical outcomes of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). We therefore aimed to assess the relationship between mindfulness profiles and mental health in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and to examine whether mindfulness profiles are predictive for MBCT-induced changes in mental health.

Method: Latent profile analysis (LPA), a method used to identify hidden subgroups of individuals within a population, was performed on pre-MBCT subscale scores of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in patients with current or remitted MDD (n=754). Equality of means of pre-MBCT, post-MBCT, and residualized change scores of several mental health measures across the latent profiles was tested.

Results: LPA identified four distinct mindfulness profiles. Three profiles were similar to previously identified profiles in another MDD sample (“very low mindfulness,” “high mindfulness,” “non-judgmentally aware”) and one profile was similar to that identified in non-clinical populations (“judgmentally observing”). The “high mindfulness” subgroup scored best, the “very low mindfulness” worst, and the other subgroups intermediate on mental health in terms of depressive symptoms, worry, overall functional impairment, and self-compassion. Mindfulness profiles were not predictive of MBCT-induced changes in mental health.

Conclusions: Mindfulness profiles were differentially related to mental health, but were not predictive of treatment outcome. Future research would benefit from longitudinal assessment of latent mindfulness profiles to examine whether a patient’s profile changes after MBCT and whether hypothesized change in profile would be related to treatment outcome. Preregistration This study was not preregistered.