Development of the Applied Mindfulness Process Scale as a Process Evaluation Measure for Mindfulness Practice in a Chinese Context.

Yitong Jia,Yitian Yan,Xinqi Zhuang,Wen-Xin Shi,Ge Meng,Yin-Ping Zhang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.848787

Abstract

With the rising popularity of mindfulness practice, it is necessary and crucial to evaluate mindfulness using comprehensive and objective measures. The instruments to assess mindfulness in China mainly evaluate mindfulness as a state or trait mode. Few process measures have been developed to clarify effective therapy benefits of the alterations obtained using mindfulness practice. Therefore, this study aims to adapt the Applied Mindfulness Process Scale (AMPS) into Mandarin and explore in detail the reliability and validity of this novel-translated measure. Following cross-cultural modification for original AMPS into Mandarin as per established guidelines, psychometric evaluation was performed on a cohort of 234 Chinese adults. Construct validity was analyzed through exploratory factor analysis (n = 115), together with confirmatory factor analysis (n = 119). Reliability was assessed by internal consistency together with test-retest reliability. Findings indicated that the internal consistency was high, with Cronbach’s alpha being 0.936. The principal component analysis led to a three-factor structure that explained 67.374% of all variations. The three-factor model was consistent with the original scale model. Based upon confirmatory factor analyses, all fitting indices satisfied the standard, which showed a close fit to the data. Therefore, the newly multi-culturally modified AMPS has sufficient validity, test-retest reliability, together with internal consistency. Chinese AMPS may offer researchers and clinicians a psychometrically optimized tool for evaluating the application of mindfulness and change process within mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in Mainland China.

Highlights

Mindfulness was typically described as the awareness that emerges by intentionally bringing one’s attention, in a non-judgmental manner, to the internal and external experiences that exist in the present moment (Kabat-Zinn, 2003)
mindfulnessbased interventions (MBIs) consist of a mixture of Development of Applied Mindfulness Process Scale (AMPS) in China mind-body practices applied for enhancing mindfulness consciousness, represented through the momentary-based non-judging attention being freed from the abstraction and focus of cognitive emotions (Kabat-Zinn, 2003)
The existing scales used to measure the process of mindfulness practice mainly consist of the 7-item Mindfulness Process Questionnaire (MPQ) developed in 2012 and the Applied Mindfulness Process Scale (AMPS), developed in 2016

Summary

Introduction

Mindfulness was typically described as the awareness that emerges by intentionally bringing one’s attention, in a non-judgmental manner, to the internal and external experiences that exist in the present moment (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). MBIs consist of a mixture of Development of AMPS in China mind-body practices applied for enhancing mindfulness consciousness, represented through the momentary-based non-judging attention being freed from the abstraction and focus of cognitive emotions (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Notwithstanding the proliferation of instruments for mindfulness evaluation, all the tools mentioned above cater for mindfulness assessment through an outcome perspective, not from a processing perspective. Such a methodology kept limited understanding of how mindfulness-based skills and practices were applied in daily life when encountering life stressors. Measuring the process of mindfulness practice would enable researchers to recognize more effectively the specific mechanistic pathways by which mindfulness and corollary advantages are attained within those involved in MBIs, together with its implementations in day-to-day living situations (Chiesa et al, 2014).

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion