Objectives

Mindfulness has been increasingly incorporated into modern psychotherapies and healthcare services. The importance of psychometrically quantifying the construct of mindfulness has become paramount. One of the most reliable and valid instruments for the assessment of different aspects of dispositional mindfulness is the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). However, the psychometric properties of the FFMQ are yet to be tested in individuals with high levels of persistent depression. This study therefore investigated the psychometric properties of the FFMQ in a clinical sample with moderate-to-severe, persistent depression.

Methods

The data of 187 participants recruited from a funded randomised controlled trial were utilised. Internal consistency was assessed and construct validity was examined with confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and by statistically correlating the FFMQ to measures of depression, self-compassion, rumination and experiential avoidance.

Results

Findings supported the internal consistency of the FFMQ. CFA fit indices indicated that all correlated and hierarchical models fitted the data acceptably, with results slightly favouring the correlated model. Contrary to predictions however, individual facet loadings showed that the facet Observe loaded strongly onto an overarching factor of mindfulness, whilst Nonjudge loaded marginally. Nonjudge further showed a non-significant correlation with depression. However, exploratory post hoc analysis presented findings inconsistent with CFA.

Conclusions

In a sample of severely depressed individuals, psychometric investigation of the validity of the FFMQ highlighted contradictory findings relating to “Nonjudge”. Whilst such findings potentially challenge the validity of the FFMQ for use in its current structure in this sample, further investigation with a larger population is warranted.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01047124) and the ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN10963342)

中文翻译：

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中度至重度持续性抑郁的五个方面正念问卷的心理计量学特性

目标

正念已越来越多地纳入现代心理治疗和保健服务中。用心理学方法量化正念构念的重要性已变得至关重要。五方面正念问卷（FFMQ）是评估性格正念的各个方面的最可靠，最有效的工具之一。但是，FFMQ的心理测量特性尚未在患有持续性抑郁症的高水平人群中进行测试。因此，本研究调查了中度至重度持续性抑郁症临床样本中FFMQ的心理测量特性。

方法

利用从一项资助的随机对照试验中招募的187名参与者的数据。通过验证性因素分析（CFA）以及通过将FFMQ与抑郁症，自我同情，反省和体验回避措施进行统计相关性，评估内部一致性并检验结构的有效性。

结果

调查结果支持了FFMQ的内部一致性。CFA拟合指数表明，所有相关模型和层次模型都可以令人满意地拟合数据，结果稍微偏爱相关模型。然而，与预测相反，各个方面的负载表明，“方面”观察负载强烈地负载在正念的总体因素上，而“非判断者”负载很小。非法官进一步显示与抑郁无显着相关性。但是，事后的探索性分析显示与CFA不一致的发现。

结论

在一个严重抑郁的个体样本中，对FFMQ有效性的心理计量学调查强调了与“非判决”相关的矛盾发现。尽管这些发现可能会挑战FFMQ在本样本的当前结构中使用的有效性，但仍需要对更多的人群进行进一步的研究。

试用注册

ClinicalTrials.gov（NCT01047124）和ISRCTN注册中心（ISRCTN10963342）