The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale for Adolescents (MAAS-A): Psychometric Properties in a Dutch Sample.
Esther I. de Bruin, Bonne J H Zijlstra, Eva Van de Weijer-Bergsma, Susan M. Bögels
Mindfulness September 2011 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-011-0061-6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Psychometric study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 717 |
| Population | Adolescents (age 11-17) from the general population in the Netherlands |
| Measures | Mindful Attention Awareness Scale for Adolescents (MAAS-A), Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure |
| Key points | The Dutch MAAS-A demonstrated a one-factor structure, high internal consistency, and convergent and divergent validity comparable to the original, with expected correlations with stress, emotion regulation, happiness, and quality of life, but no expected positive correlation with acceptance. |
Abstract
The factor structure and psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale for Adolescents (MAAS-A) was studied in a sample of adolescents (n = 717; age range, 11-17 years) of the general population. The MAAS-A and other questionnaires measuring other constructs were administered in high schools across the Netherlands. A one-factor structure was demonstrated using principal component analysis and was further confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. The MAAS-A was shown to have high internal consistency. Expected negative correlations between mindfulness and self-reported stress and emotion regulation strategies such as rumination and catastrophizing were found. Further, mindfulness was positively correlated with happiness, healthy self-regulation, and with another recently developed measure of mindfulness in children and adolescents, the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure. Mindfulness as measured by the MAAS-A correlated positively with quality of life, but an expected positive relationship with acceptance was not found. Interestingly, adolescents without meditation experience scored higher on the MAAS-A than adolescents without this experience. Further, adolescents with chronic disorders scored lower on the MAAS-A than adolescents without these disorders. Overall, this study has shown evidence of the first valid and reliable Dutch measure of mindfulness for adolescents. The factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent and divergent validity as well as their relationship to quality of life are comparable to the original MAAS-A.