Examining the Factor Structure of the 39 Item and 15 Item Versions of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire Before and After Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for People With Recurrent Depression
Research into the effectiveness and mechanisms of mindfulness based interventions (MBIs) requires reliable and valid measures of mindfulness. The 39 item Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ 39) is a measure of mindfulness commonly used to assess change before and after MBIs. However, the stability and invariance of the FFMQ factor structure have not yet been tested before and after an MBI; pre to post comparisons may not be valid if the structure changes over this period. Our primary aim was to examine the factor structure of the FFMQ 39 before and after mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in adults with recurrent depression in remission using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) Additionally, we examined whether the factor structure of the 15 item version (FFMQ 15) was consistent with that of the FFMQ 39, and whether it was stable over MBCT. Our secondary aim was to assess the general psychometric properties of both versions. CFAs showed that pre MBCT, a 4 factor hierarchical model (excluding the "observing" facet) best fit the FFMQ 39 and FFMQ 15 data, whereas post MBCT, a 5 factor hierarchical model best fit the data for both versions. Configural invariance across the time points was not supported for both versions. Internal consistency and sensitivity to change were adequate for both versions. Both FFMQ versions did not differ significantly from each other in terms of convergent validity. Researchers should consider excluding the Observing subscale from comparisons of total scale/subscale scores before and after mindfulness interventions. Current findings support the use of the FFMQ 15 as an alternative measure in research where briefer forms are needed.
Psychological assessment