Examining the Factors of Mindfulness: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire

The goal of this dissertation was to test the factor structure and psychometrics of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). An extensive literature supporting the efficacy and effectiveness of mindfulness and its application has developed over the past decade. The measurement of mindfulness continues to improve with a more comprehensive recently developed measure: the FFMQ. Recent research indicates further support is needed to confirm previous results in mindfulness measurement research, and the FFMQ in particular. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the factor structure of the FFMQ; however, unlike the original FFMQ study (Baer et al., 2006) which used item parceling, in this dissertation individual items were used as indicators, providing a more stringent test of the FFMQ model fit. As hypothesized, the FFMQ model using item-level indicators provided a good fit to the data. The psychometric characteristics of each of the five facets of the FFMQ (Observing, Describing, Acting with Awareness, Nonreactivity, Nonjudging) were acceptable. Additionally, as expected the FFMQ was positively correlated with life satisfaction and emotional intelligence, and negatively correlated with depression. The five factor hierarchical model observed among meditation sample for Baer et al. (2006) was confirmed with a mixed sample of meditators and non-meditators. Overall, the psychometrics and factor structure of the FFMQ were further confirmed with results of the current study