A Mega-Analysis of the Relationship Between Breath Counting Test Performance and Subscales of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire

Abstract Objectives The assessment of mindfulness has relied predominantly on self-report questionnaires, indicating a need for alternative methods based on objective data. The Breath-Counting Task (BCT) has been proposed as a viable candidate by several mindfulness researchers, but has been subject to relatively little scientific scrutiny.

Method: We conducted a mega-analysis using combined data from five separate studies, using multiple linear regression models to examine the relationship between BCT performance and self-reported mindfulness after controlling for age and gender. We examined associations with trait mindfulness as indexed by the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS).

Results: Accuracy on the BCT correlated only with a combined dataset of z-scores derived from FFMQ-Acting with Awareness and MAAS. We also examined associations with two different types of task errors: miscounts (uncaught errors) and resets (self-caught errors). While reset rates correlated with FFMQ-Acting with Awareness, miscount rates did not correlate with any mindfulness measure.

Conclusions: Our analyses provide confirmatory evidence that BCT performance is related to the attentional aspects of trait mindfulness and not its attitudinal aspects – however the relevant correlations are fairly small. In seeking an objective measure of mindful attention, the weak association observed with BCT resets and the lack thereof with BCT accuracy suggests more promise in paradigms based on self-monitoring lapses of attention, while sustained attention tasks such as the present BCT may be of limited application among individuals new to meditation due to their lack of prior practice.