Langer Mindfulness Scale Research Articles

Validation of the Persian Version of the Langer Mindfulness Scale.

This study validates the Persian version of the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS). The original scale consists of 21 items and 4 subscales; namely, novelty producing, novelty seeking, engagement, and flexibility. In this study, four samples including 2271 individuals in total participated. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to test the factorial structure of the Persian version. The results verified a two-factor structure including novelty producing and novelty seeking for the scale and the two subscales of engagement and flexibility were omitted due to marginal fit. The questionnaire showed satisfying psychometric properties in terms of reliability. Furthermore, convergent and discriminant validity of the instrument was examined via investigating the relationship between the Persian LMS with the WHOQOL instrument and negative and positive affect scales. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between the Persian LMS and positive affect, physical health, psychological health and environmental health. No significant correlations were found between the LMS, social relationships and negative affect.

An Examination of Concurrent and Incremental Validity of Four Mindfulness Scales

General consensus among psychologists supports the beneficial effects of mindfulness in the treatment of a wide range of clinical conditions such as personality, mood, and anxiety disorders. Several scales used to assess this psychological construct, mainly rooted in Eastern traditions, are currently available to researchers and clinicians. However, the conceptualization and measurement of mindfulness has been considerably diverse. The present study examines the concurrent and incremental validity of four scales: the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS), the Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS), the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS). Two independent samples of 176 adults and 397 students, respectively, were recruited. With few exceptions, results were consistent across the two samples and indicated that measures based on an Eastern conceptualization of mindfulness (TMS, PHLMS, and FFMQ) show a different pattern of association with the chosen outcomes compared to the LMS, which is based on a Western conceptualization. Overall, the PHLMS showed the strongest predictive effects and the LMS the weakest in terms of both number of predicted criteria and average effect size. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Mindful Attention to Variability Intervention and Successful Pregnancy Outcomes.

Based on a definition of mindfulness as actively noticing novelty (Langer, 1989; Langer, Blank, & Chanowitz, 1978), the present study sought to examine whether mindfulness training (attention to sensation variability) resulted in better childbirth outcomes for both mother and infant. At Weeks 25-30 of pregnancy, mindful instructions to attend to the variability of their positive and negative physical sensations were given to 1 group of participants and compared with 2 control groups (N = 105). The Langer Mindfulness Scale was used to assess the relationship between trait mindfulness and health outcomes. Findings showed that trait mindfulness predicted the well-being of expecting mothers and better neonatal outcomes. Mindfulness training resulted in better health for the expecting mother. Findings suggest that mindfulness without meditation can be easily taught and may enhance the pregnancy experience for mother and fetus.

Mindful Creativity Scale (MCS): Validation of a German version of the Langer Mindfulness Scale with patients with severe TBI and controls

Background: Mindfulness may have an impact on the recovery process in patients who have suffered severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). In order to make an instrument for measuring mindfulness within the German speaking clinical community available, a short, easily usable scale and a cross-cultural adaptation is needed.Objectives: To validate the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS) with German-speaking patients with severe TBI and their relatives (healthy controls).Research design: In a prospective cohort study of patients with severe TBI, test–re-test interviews were carried out at 6-month intervals.Sample: A total of 225 participants responded to the first survey and 230 completed the second survey.Measures: LMS, self-report questions on personality, openness and attention, as well as health and clinical evaluations (including cognitive and behavioural assessments).Results: On the basis of factor analysis, principal component analysis and item response analysis, the initial 21-items were reduced to six items. The resulting unidimensional scale showed high internal consistency (α = 0.82) and good test–re-test reliability (intra-class correlation for total score = 0.46). External validity was confirmed for the entire sample.Conclusion: It was concluded that the German short form of the original LMS (MCS) is a valid and reliable measure of mindful creativity.

Mindfulness and sexuality

Mindfulness seems to associate with positive effects on health and overall wellbeing. However, little research has indicated association between mindfulness and sexuality. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that mindfulness correlates with sexuality in healthy people. We conducted a cross-sectional study with people who practice yoga or meditation (n = 51), people who have done a sport for over 10 years (n = 21) and people who have done none of the above (n = 145) by studying correlations between mindfulness and sexuality. A total of 215 men and women participated in this study (M = 31.61, SD = 9.24). We measured mindfulness and sexuality by distri-buting the Langer's Mindfulness Scale and the Multidimensional Sexuality Questionnaire. We explored whether mindfulness subscales correlate with any of the sexuality subscales in these three study groups, irrespectively. People in the meditation/yoga group had been practicing mindfulness and different meditative practices (including vipassana and yoga) for over 10 years. We found significant higher scores in the novelty-seeking component in people who meditate compared to athletes. Even though our results showed that the group of people who do a sport have less sexual anxiety and sexual depression compared to the meditators, these results were not at a statistically significant level. Additionally, no significant differences were found between the other groups. We found positive correlations between all mindfulness subscales (engagement, novelty seeking, novelty producing and flexibility) and sexual motivation, and between novelty seeking and sexual consciousness. Our findings seem to indicate that mindfulness correlates positively with sexual motivation and sexual consiousness. In particular, people who practice meditation or yoga showed higher levels in novelty seeking (mindfulness subscale) compared to people who play sport. Novelty seeking might be an important component in affecting sexuality.

The Development and Validation of the Langer Mindfulness Scale - Enabling a Socio-Cognitive Perspective of Mindfulness in Organizational Contexts

This article outlines the development of a 14-item measure of socio-cognitive mindfulness. Using 9 samples (including multisource and multi-wave data) with a total of 4,345 responses the authors developed a reliable scale with a tri-dimensional factor structure that replicated across 5 separate samples. The scale possessed both convergent and discriminant validity, and criterion related validity was demonstrated through the scale’s relation with psychological well-being, such as life satisfaction and humor, dimensions of physical well-being, e.g. strength, flexibility and reaction time, as well as aspects of social and organizational well-being including job satisfaction, creativity, and learning. Overall, the present study suggests that the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS14) is a reliable and valid measure and that the LMS has important implications for both individuals and organizations.

Relationships between mindfulness, flow dispositions and mental skills adoption: A cluster analytic approach

Objectives This study examines the relationships between mindfulness, flow dispositions and mental skills adoption. Design Cluster analytic approach. Methods Participants in this study were 182 university student athletes. They were administered the Mindfulness/Mindlessness Scale [MMS; Bodner, T., & Langer, E. (2001). Individual differences in mindfulness: The Langer Mindfulness Scale. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, Toronto, Ont., Canada], Dispositional Flow Scale 2 [DFS-2; Jackson, S. A., & Eklund, R. C. (2004). The flow scale manual. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology] and Test of Performance Strategies [TOPS; Thomas, P. R., Murphy, S. M., & Hardy, L. (1999). Test of performance strategies: Development and preliminary validation of a comprehensive measure of athletes’ psychological skills. Journal of Sports Sciences, 17, 697–711]. Results Four distinctive mindfulness clusters were found based on their response on the MMS using cluster analysis. Marked differences in flow dispositions and mental skills adoption habits were observed between the high and the low mindfulness clusters. Those in the high mindfulness cluster scored significantly higher than the low mindfulness clusters in challenge–skill balance, merging of action and awareness, clear goals, concentration and loss of self-consciousness scores of the DFS-2 [Jackson, S.A., & Eklund, R.C. (2004). The flow scale manual. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology]. The high mindfulness clusters also scored significantly higher compared to the low mindfulness cluster in terms of attentional control, emotional control, goal setting and self-talk sub-scales of the TOPS. Conclusions This study suggests that athletes’ flow dispositions and mental skills adoption could be differentiated using mindfulness. The findings have implications towards the understanding of flow and mental skills adoption within sport psychology.