Validity evidence of the Spanish Version of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale using the Rasch Measurement Model

“Specifically, we were interested in addressing the following research questions: (a) to what degree were the response process used by respondents consistent with those envisioned by Brown and Ryan (2003) (evidence based on response processes); (b) which was the representativeness”

“Psychological Wellbeing Scale (Ryff & Keyes, 1995; Spanish version from Díaz et al., 2006).”

“If we consider the existence of different attention networks (Posner & Petersen, 1990) one possibility is that, for the same level of mindfulness, the difficulty to endorse an item does not change because the type of attention measured by the MAAS is not affected by age.”

“The MAAS has been demonstrated to be invariant across clinical and nonclinical populations (Carlson & Brown, 2005), age (Medvedev et al., 2016; Smith et al., 2017), gender (Black et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2017), and cultures (Ghorbani et al., 2009; Johnson et al., 2014; Seema et al., 2015).”

“Psychological Wellbeing Scale (Ryff & Keyes, 1995; Spanish version from Díaz et al., 2006).”

“For items, MNSQ < 0.6 indicates overfit, and MNSQ > 1.4 indicates underfit (Bond & Fox, 2015).”

“, 2004), anxiety and depression (Hofmann et al., 2010), and helps in coping with physical symptoms (Newland & Bettencourt, 2020).”

“We calculated the omega coefficient (ω; McDonald, 1999) to estimate the reliability of person measures for the Spanish version of each scale.”

“In general, findings from online surveys are consistent with those obtained using traditional methods (Gosling et al., 2004).”

“However, these processes follow different trajectories along the life span; in general, as people age, some attentional and cognitive processes decrease while emotion regulation tends to improve (Carstensen et al., 2003).”

“However, some difficulties to compare the outcomes of intervention programs remains due to the variety of measurement instruments used, and because less than half of the studies in the field of anxiety, depression, distress, and quality of life included a validated measure (Khoury et al., 2015).”

“In terms of the magnitude of the correlation coefficients based on empirical guidelines (Hemphill, 2003), all were in the upper third.”

“In practice, under violations of tau-equivalence conditions, coefficient omega provides more accurate measurements than Cronbach’s alpha (Raykov & Marcoulides, 2011).”

“For instance, Creswell et al. (2007) showed that higher MAAS scorers had greater affect regulation ability through enhanced inhibition processes of emotional responses (operated by prefrontal cortical mechanisms and the amygdala, respectively).”

“Decentering Subscale from the Experiences Questionnaire (Fresco et al., 2007; Spanish version from Linares et al., 2016).”

“The requirement of local independence was examined with Yen’s Q3 test (Yen, 1993).”

“2 above the average correlation to judge the presence of local independence (Christensen et al., 2017; Marais, 2013).”

“…attention and less mind-wandering in older adults than in young adults (e.g., Fountain-Zaragoza et al., 2018), and with the idea of considering dispositional mindfulness as a developmental process, that is, “a power that varies with the maturity of the practitioner” (Kabat-Zinn, 2005, p. 109).”

“In this regard, Grossman (2011), and Rau and Williams (2016) argued that responses to some items of the scale (e.g., “being aware of . . . ” or “paying attention to . . . ”) could be related not to the mindfulness level, but to their different meaning for meditators and nonmeditators.”

“The MAAS has been demonstrated to be invariant across clinical and nonclinical populations (Carlson & Brown, 2005), age (Medvedev et al., 2016; Smith et al., 2017), gender (Black et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2017), and cultures (Ghorbani et al., 2009; Johnson et al., 2014; Seema et al., 2015).”

“, Fountain-Zaragoza et al., 2018) demonstrating age-related decline in attentive efficiency in individuals over 60 years of age revealed that this decline did not involve all components of attention (e.g., focusing or shifting). Alternatively, the MAAS may be measuring the construct called mindfulness and this is diff…”

“In his opinion, this practice “may be akin to validating a self-rating questionnaire of shame with a sample of sociopaths” (Grossman, 2008, p. 407).”

“As Sauer et al. (2013) stated, as long as no other cognitive or emotional self-regulatory processes can be empirically observed apart from the attentional process, the operational definition by Brown and Ryan (2003) may be correct.”

“The MAAS differentiated meditators from nonmeditators (Cordon & Finney, 2008; Goh et al., 2017) but did not differentiate nonmeditators from occasional meditators (MacKillop & Anderson, 2007).”

“In their systematic review, Park et al. (2013) reported positive overall quality ratings for most of the psychometric properties of the MAAS.”

“However, although Galiana et al. (2017) and Van Dam et al. (2010) considered Items 7, 8, 9, 10, and 14 the best items to measure the construct and the remaining 10 items of little utility for the scale, our analyses revealed another side of the story.”

“The importance of measuring mindfulness resides in its relationship with emotional and cognitive dimensions of well-being (Querstret et al., 2020), dimensions of quality of life (Tutek et al.”

“Although Baer (2011), Grossman (2011), Rau and Williams (2016), and Van Dam et al. (2010) questioned, but did not empirically test the invariance of the MAAS due to an idiosyncratic understanding of items between meditators and nonmeditators, we did not find evidence of DIF across nonmeditators, occasional meditators…”

“The aim is to assess how the facets of the construct as defined by the scale’s developers are being measured, and whether the scale contains irrelevant content (Sireci & Faulkner-Bond, 2014).”

“Evidence from the IRT framework has not shown consistent findings; while Chiesi et al. (2017) stated that the 15 items of the MAAS were adequately reflecting the operationalization of the construct, Van Dam et al. (2010) argued that only five items (referred to general experiences and behaviors) were adequate.”

“In this regard, Grossman (2011), and Rau and Williams (2016) argued that responses to some items of the scale (e.g., “being aware of . . . ” or “paying attention to . . . ”) could be related not to the mindfulness level, but to their different meaning for meditators and nonmeditators.”

“4, SD = 14.3, range = 18-70 years, 84% female) recruited across Spain and Latin American Spanish-speaking countries. Venezuela (15.4%, n = 125), Nicaragua (14.4%, n = 117), Spain (11.8%, n = 96), and Bolivia (11.3%, n = 92) provided the majority of respondents (52.9%). Other countries providing respondents were Paragu…”

“Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; Zigmond & Snaith 1983; Spanish version from Terol-Cantero et al., 2015).”

“On the other hand, age-related improvements in emotion regulation facilitates individuals to stay open and receptive to present-moment experiences that, in turn, may facilitate dispositional mindfulness (Bishop et al., 2004; Prakash et al., 2015).”

“Brown et al. (2011) argued that the six response categories from the MAAS were selected to allow even nonmeditators to score at the upper end of the scale range.”

“For example, in a systematic review and meta-analysis conducted by Castellanos et al. (2020) evaluating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for Hispanic populations, only 9% of the reported studies assessed mindfulness with self-report instruments.”

“Research has shown Cronbach’s α values ranging from .77 (Black et al., 2012) to .93 (Hansen et al., 2009).”

“, 2014), decentering (Soler et al., 2014), and self-compassion (Evans et al.”

“For instance, in general population, Medvedev et al. (2016) did not find DIF, Goh et al. (2017) found DIF in two items in opposite directions, while Galiana et al. (2017) found DIF for Item 6 in a sample of palliative care professionals, and Inchausti et al. (2014) identified DIF for Item 9 in…”

“The MAAS has been demonstrated to be invariant across clinical and nonclinical populations (Carlson & Brown, 2005), age (Medvedev et al., 2016; Smith et al., 2017), gender (Black et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2017), and cultures (Ghorbani et al., 2009; Johnson et al., 2014; Seema et al., 2015).”

“The MAAS differentiated meditators from nonmeditators (Cordon & Finney, 2008; Goh et al., 2017) but did not differentiate nonmeditators from occasional meditators (MacKillop & Anderson, 2007).”

“…mindfulness, such as subjective well-being (Smith et al., 2017), depression and anxiety (Barajas & Garra, 2014), experiential avoidance (Catak, 2012), awareness and acceptance (Barajas & Garra, 2014; Johnson et al., 2014), decentering (Soler et al., 2014), and self-compassion (Evans et al., 2018).”

“, 2017), depression and anxiety (Barajas & Garra, 2014), experiential avoidance (Catak, 2012), awareness and acceptance (Barajas & Garra, 2014; Johnson et al.”

“Similarly, Christopher et al. (2009) found higher MAAS scores in Thai monks than in a sample of nonmeditator American college students.”

“…emotional and cognitive dimensions of well-being (Querstret et al., 2020), dimensions of quality of life (Tutek et al., 2021), health-related conditions (Tomlinson et al., 2020), health behaviors (Vinci, 2020), and an increasing variety of biomarkers of cellular health (Mendioroz et al., 2020).”

“…have revealed consistent evidence of the unidimensional structure of the MAAS in general population (e.g., Kotzé & Nel, 2016; Rayan & Ahmad, 2018), psychiatric outpatients (Inchausti et al., 2014), patients with fibromyalgia (Pleman et al., 2019), and patients with cancer (Carlson & Brown, 2005).”

“In a validation study in Spain, confirmatory factor analysis performed by Cebolla et al. (2013) revealed the existence of a second dimension composed by four items. However, the authors decided to retain the one-factor model for substantive and methodological reasons. The MAAS has been demonstrated to be invariant acr…”

“For instance, in general population, Medvedev et al. (2016) did not find DIF, Goh et al. (2017) found DIF in two items in opposite directions, while Galiana et al. (2017) found DIF for Item 6 in a sample of palliative care professionals, and Inchausti et al. (2014) identified DIF for Item 9 in…”

“In general, older adults report higher levels of mindfulness and less mind-wandering than young adults (Fountain-Zaragoza et al., 2018; Hohaus & Spark, 2013; Jensen et al., 2016).”

“…et al. (2009), literature reviews have revealed consistent evidence of the unidimensional structure of the MAAS in general population (e.g., Kotzé & Nel, 2016; Rayan & Ahmad, 2018), psychiatric outpatients (Inchausti et al., 2014), patients with fibromyalgia (Pleman et al., 2019), and…”

“…literature reviews have revealed consistent evidence of the unidimensional structure of the MAAS in general population (e.g., Kotzé & Nel, 2016; Rayan & Ahmad, 2018), psychiatric outpatients (Inchausti et al., 2014), patients with fibromyalgia (Pleman et al., 2019), and patients with cancer…”

“Other researchers have reported more adequate indices such as the McDonald’s omega coefficient (ω = .84; Smith et al., 2017) and Raykov’s rho coefficient (ρ = .”

“The MAAS has been demonstrated to be invariant across clinical and nonclinical populations (Carlson & Brown, 2005), age (Medvedev et al., 2016; Smith et al., 2017), gender (Black et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2017), and cultures (Ghorbani et al., 2009; Johnson et al., 2014; Seema et al., 2015).”

“In general, older adults report higher levels of mindfulness and less mind-wandering than young adults (Fountain-Zaragoza et al., 2018; Hohaus & Spark, 2013; Jensen et al., 2016).”

“Despite the usual practice of deleting items to achieve a better model fit, T. G. Bond and Fox (2015), and Köhler and Hartig (2017) cautioned about this in some circumstances because it might decrease the content-based validity and cause additional problems.”

“The finding that MAAS scores were associate with lower levels of high-frequency heart rate variability in experimental studies with undergraduate studies (Watford et al., 2020) also suggested that the MAAS is more likely measuring intentional attention and awareness than inattentiveness.”

“Studies from Chiesi et al. (2017), Osman et al. (2016), and Van Dam et al. (2010) identified between one and four misfitting items (Items 6, 11, 13, and 15).”

“, Kotzé & Nel, 2016; Rayan & Ahmad, 2018), psychiatric outpatients (Inchausti et al., 2014), patients with fibromyalgia (Pleman et al.”

“To date, the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003) is the most cited instrument to measure dispositional mindfulness (Tomlinson et al., 2020) in applied research and clinical practice.”

“Regarding gender differences, with the exception of the study from Montes et al. (2014), where males scored higher than women, no differences between male and female have been reported.”

“The MAAS has been demonstrated to be invariant across clinical and nonclinical populations (Carlson & Brown, 2005), age (Medvedev et al., 2016; Smith et al., 2017), gender (Black et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2017), and cultures (Ghorbani et al., 2009; Johnson et al., 2014; Seema et al., 2015).”

“As they stated, the strict model assumptions under IRT and Rasch modeling typically result in identifying some misfitting items.”

“…resides in its relationship with emotional and cognitive dimensions of well-being (Querstret et al., 2020), dimensions of quality of life (Tutek et al., 2021), health-related conditions (Tomlinson et al., 2020), health behaviors (Vinci, 2020), and an increasing variety of biomarkers of…”

“…in secure versus insecure attachment (Cordon and Finney, 2008); cancer versus community samples (Carlson and Brown, 2005); as well as according to age, meditation experience (Buz et al., 2021), across the language (Johnson et al., 2014), and across the time (González-Blanch et al., 2022).”