What Can We Learn from Randomized Clinical Trials About the Construct Validity of Self-Report Measures of Mindfulness? A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Because they provide data on responsiveness to experimental manipulation, clinical trials involving mindfulness-based interventions are a source of evidence for the construct validity of self-report measures of mindfulness. Within-group and between-group changes in mindfulness were examined from randomized clinical trials comparing mindfulness interventions to other bona fide treatment comparison conditions or waitlist control conditions. We also examined changes in clinical outcomes and the magnitude of these changes relative to changes in mindfulness. We included 69 published studies representing 55 unique samples (n = 4,743). Self-report mindfulness measures showed relatively larger gains in mindfulness intervention conditions vis-à-vis waitlist comparison conditions at both post-treatment (effect size [ES] = 0.52, 95% CI [0.40, 0.64]) and follow-up (ES = 0.52 [0.20, 0.84]), although the effect at followup diminished to non-significance in a trim-and-fill analysis intended to account for publication bias (ES = 0.35 [-0.03, 0.72]). Measures of mindfulness also showed relatively larger gains in mindfulness intervention conditions vis-à-vis bona fide comparison conditions, but only at post

Still facial photographs of long-term meditators are perceived by naïve observers as less neurotic, more conscientious and more mindful than non-meditating controls

“…Interpersonal perceptions matter; they show incremental validity beyond self-report for predicting a variety of outcomes (e.g., teacher effectiveness, academic performance) [23,24] and are not confounded with known biases in self-report (e.g., social desirability) that may be particularly pernicious when assessing internal processes impacted by meditation training (e.g., mindfulness). [13,43] Our results support the notion that long-term meditation practice is associated with more favorable perceptions by others in still photographs, on dimensions with potentially important intraand interpersonal consequences. [44] The ways in which these perceptions made from still photographs may relate to perception in daily life is not clear from the current study, of course.…”

“…[10] Meditation training has been linked via meta-analysis to lower neuroticism and higher attention and empathy. [11] Further, dispositional mindfulness, a psychological construct purported to be cultivated in the context of various forms of meditation training (e.g., mindfulness meditation), [12,13] is correlated with several aspects of personality including neuroticism (r = -.45), conscientiousness (r = .32), and agreeableness (r = .22). [14] Theories on the effects of meditation practice claim that they will be embodied and impact both psychological and physiological variables.…”

Mindfulness versus Physical Exercise: Effects of Two Recovery Strategies on Mental Health, Stress and Immunoglobulin A during Lunch Breaks. A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Nevertheless, it has not been possible to find randomised controlled trials of MM and PE practised during lunch breaks by workers with medium stress levels. Therefore, in response to criticism by Farias and Wikholm [70] and Goldberg [71], the present study aims to compare the effects of MM with a bona fide practice like PE, and these effects, in turn, with those found in the inactive control group (CG). In this work a randomized controlled trial was carried out with pre-test, post-test and follow-up (one and six months after the post-test) in which in addition to the two experimental conditions indicated (MM and PE) an inactive control group (CG) was used.…”

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

“…Consequently, the boundaries of the construct of mindfulness appear not well defined. This creates ambiguity, as it thus remains undecidable whether mindfulness might be a very general construct with measurable effects even in the absence of formal or informal training (e.g., increases of mindfulness in non-mindfulness-based treatments; Goldberg et al 2019), or whether this apparent generality is caused by an excessive overlap with other traits (e.g., with neuroticism and negative affect; Giluk 2009). Recent research highlights definitional overlaps of the trait-like (i.e., dispositional) aspects of self-reported mindfulness with the Big Five personality traits (especially with neuroticism and conscientiousness) and reported only small unique contributions of mindfulness in accounting for mental health, once the Big Five are statistically controlled for (Tran et al 2020).…”

“…Currently, mindfulness research tries to explain how mindfulness exerts its positive effects on mental health, testing whether specific constructs, like the ones described above, mediate the effects of mindfulness on mental health (for a review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies, see Gu et al 2015; for recent cross-sectional studies, see Burzler et al 2019;Freudenthaler et al 2017;Sahdra et al 2016;Tran et al 2014). However, longitudinal studies (see Gu et al 2015) also suggest that self-reported mindfulness is a mechanism of change for mindfulness treatments (and probably for other, non-mindfulness-based, treatments as well, see Goldberg et al 2019). Thus, popular mindfulness measures likely already capture some of the "mental faculties" of mindfulness (sensu Van Dam et al 2018).…”