Validity evidence of the brazilian version of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)

Víviam Vargas De Barros,Isabel Cristina Weiss De Souza,Telmo Mota Ronzani,Elisa Harumi Kozasa

doi:10.1590/1678-7153.201528110

Víviam Vargas De Barros, Isabel Cristina Weiss De Souza + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-7153.201528110

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Abstract

Mindfulness is a skill that allows the practitioner to expand an existing space between stimulus and response, so he/she may make more conscious choices which in turn prevents the perpetuation of dysfunctional patterns of behaviors, contributing to the improvement of his/her well-being. The goal of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in a sample with 395 participants divided into smokers, people from the general population, college students and meditators. They answered the MAAS and the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS). An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to test the factor structure of the MAAS. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability and split half were respectively assessed with Cronbach's α and correlation coefficients. Construct validity was examined by correlating the MAAS with psychological well-being. Criterion validity was assessed by comparing the meditators' scores on the MAAS with the scores of other participants. After the exploratory factor analysis, the Brazilian MAAS remained a unidimensional scale. Reliability [α = .83; split half = .67 and test-retest = .80 (p < .001)] and validity measures were adequate, except the criterion validity which was not confirmed in the mentioned sample.

Highlights

Mindfulness is a skill that allows the practitioner to expand an existing space between stimulus and response, so he/she may make more conscious choices which in turn prevents the perpetuation of dysfunctional patterns of behaviors, contributing to the improvement of his/her well-being
Mindfulness that will be used will follow the concepts of Western psychology, in which mindfulness refers to a metacognitive skill, defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn as “paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1990)
The family income and years of schooling were similar among tobacco users and the participants from the primary health care unit (UAPS) and was higher among the students (UFJF) and the experienced meditators (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Mindfulness is a skill that allows the practitioner to expand an existing space between stimulus and response, so he/she may make more conscious choices which in turn prevents the perpetuation of dysfunctional patterns of behaviors, contributing to the improvement of his/her well-being. The goal of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in a sample with 395 participants divided into smokers, people from the general population, college students and meditators. They answered the MAAS and the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS). The MBSR was originally developed for management of chronic pain and stress-related illnesses It consists of eight group sessions of two hours each week, where they are taught formal meditation practices (sitting meditation, walking meditation, yoga and body scan) and ways of including the practice of mindfulness in daily life (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). From the development of MBSR, other programs were created (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy [MBCT], Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention [MBRP], among others), generating a variety of interventions for various other disorders

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