The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale for Adolescents (MAAS-A): Psychometric Properties in a Dutch Sample

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.

Chronic Childhood Stress: Psychometric Properties of the Chronic Stress Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (CSQ-CA) in Three Independent Samples

“…Further, we found that feeling more stressed was related to being less mindful, and vice versa. This has been confirmed in validation studies of child and adolescent mindfulness measures that were inversely related to the stress questionnaire for children used in this study, the CSQ-CA (De Bruin et al 2011;De Bruin et al 2013). From mindfulness intervention studies in adults it is further known that stress levels decrease significantly after training and health benefits increase (e.g., Carmody and Baer 2008;Grossman et al 2004).…”

“…The MAAS-A (Brown et al 2011;De Bruin et al 2011) consists of 14 items that measure the level of mindfulness. The items are answered on a 6-point scale with higher scores indicating higher trait mindfulness, which refers to a higher state of nonjudgmental present-moment awareness.…”

Mindful Parenting Assessed Further: Psychometric Properties of the Dutch Version of the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale (IM-P)

“…Mindfulness allows parents to perceive their children more clearly as they truly are and to act with wisdom and responsivity, instead of just reacting (Kabat-Zinn and Kabat-Zinn 1997). Although only a few randomized controlled trials are available (e.g., Coatsworth et al 2010), several recent case and preliminary studies show promising effects of mindful parenting training in parents of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety disorders, and other developmental disabilities (i.e., Bögels et al 2008, 2010; Singh et al 2006, 2009; Van der Oord et al 2011; Van de Weijer-Bergsma et al 2011). Children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms decreased, aggressive behavior diminished, and attention improved on self-reports, parentreports, and more objective neuropsychological measures of attention.…”

The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in an Argentine Population

“…It has also been adapted for use with adolescents (Brown et al, 2011;de Bruin, Zijlstra, de Weijer-Bergsma, & Bögels, 2011) and psychiatric patients (Jermann et al, 2009). To the best of our knowledge, there is only one previous study in the Spanish language; it was conducted in Spain and reported good psychometric properties for the MAAS (Soler et al, 2012).…”