Differential Item Functioning on the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire Is Minimal in Demographically Matched Meditators and Nonmeditators

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.

Study at a glance

Abstract

A recent study of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire reported high levels of differential item functioning (DIF) for 18 of its 39 items in meditating and nonmeditating samples that were not demographically matched. In particular, meditators were more likely to endorse positively worded items whereas nonmeditators were more likely to deny negatively worded (reverse-scored) items. The present study replicated these analyses in demographically matched samples of meditators and nonmeditators (n = 115 each) and found that evidence for DIF was minimal. There was little or no evidence for differential relationships between positively and negatively worded items for meditators and nonmeditators. Findings suggest that DIF based on items' scoring direction is not problematic when the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire is used to compare demographically similar meditators and nonmeditators.