Common Factors Underlying the Five Facets of Mindfulness and Proposed Mechanisms: a Psychometric Study Among Meditators and Non-meditators

Abstract

Objectives This study investigated whether common factors underlie the established mindfulness facets, as assessed by the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and some of the mechanisms, which have been previously proposed to explain the beneficial effects of mindfulness on mental health. Methods Multigroup exploratory structural equation models (ESEM) were fitted to samples of non-meditators and meditators (total N = 3265) to (1) identify the number of factors that underlie the facets and mechanisms of mindfulness, (2) establish measurement invariance, and (3) conduct path analyses to determine the associations of extracted factors with psychological symptoms. Results Five measurement-invariant common factors were found to underlie the mechanisms and facets of mindfulness. The FFMQ facets loaded distinctly, but none of them highest, on these common factors. The common factors represented different ways of focusing, dealing with distress, and relating towards one’s own thoughts, feelings, emotions, and body sensations. Three of the common factors appeared to specifically reflect meditation experience. The FFMQ facets accounted for less variance of depression, anxiety, somatization, and stress scores than marker scales of the five common factors, all of which derived from the proposed mechanisms. Conclusions The common factors appear to be elements of the supporting mechanisms and psychological faculties of mindfulness. Their existence may explain the mutual interrelations between mechanisms and self-reported mindfulness but also suggests that self-reported mindfulness may not be factorially distinct from its assumed mechanisms. Longitudinal studies as well as behavioral data are needed to probe the generalizability and causality of these psychometric results.

Relationships Between Mindfulness Facets and Mental and Physical Health in Meditating and Nonmeditating University Students

“…However, body awareness was associated with less depression and anxiety but only in the meditator sample. Nevertheless, our results are in line with the findings of Bednar et al (2020). They found that the factor which included body awareness and observing was significantly positively related to depression among meditators, and significantly positively associated with anxiety among nonmeditators.…”

“…Thus, future research should focus more on the role of the frequency of meditation practice. Another unexpected result of our study was that high levels of observing were related to higher levels of body awareness, which in turn were (Bednar et al, 2020;Rudkin et al, 2018).…”

“…They found that the factor which included body awareness and observing was significantly positively related to depression among meditators, and significantly positively associated with anxiety among nonmeditators. Notably, the meditators in the study of Bednar et al (2020) had similar meditation experiences as the meditating students of our sample. Thus, future research should focus more on the role of the frequency of meditation practice.…”

A clinical perspective on burnout: diagnosis, classification, and treatment of clinical burnout

“…The strong ability to persevere and postpone need gratification makes that they are les tuned to signals of their body and tend to choose their actions on basis on what they think that they should do and not on what they feel. Relaxation exercises, meditation and mindfulness exercises can be helpful to become more receptive to signals of the body again (Bednar et al, 2020).…”

Kwestionariusz Zaawansowania W Uważności (polska adaptacja i walidacja)

“…Za takim właśnie rozwiązaniem zdają się przemawiać wyniki innych badań, które dowodzą, że pozycje testowe narzędzi mierzących uważność powinny być kon ceptualizowane raczej jako wielowymiarowe niż specyficzne (czynnik ogólny uważność oraz specyficzne konstrukty poznawcze; por. Aquado i in., 2015;Bednar, Voracek, Tran, 2020).…”