The assessment of present-moment awareness and acceptance: the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale

Assessment. 2008 Jun;15(2):204-23. doi: 10.1177/1073191107311467. Epub 2008 Jan 9.

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to develop a bidimensional measure of mindfulness to assess its two key components: present-moment awareness and acceptance. The development and psychometric validation of the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale is described, and data are reported from expert raters, two nonclinical samples (n = 204 and 559), and three clinical samples including mixed psychiatric outpatients (n = 52), eating disorder inpatients (n = 30), and student counseling center outpatients (n = 78). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support a two-factor solution, corresponding to the two constituent components of the construct. Good internal consistency was demonstrated, and relationships with other constructs were largely as expected. As predicted, significant differences were found between the nonclinical and clinical samples in levels of awareness and acceptance. The awareness and acceptance subscales were not correlated, suggesting that these two constructs can be examined independently. Potential theoretical and applied uses of the measure are discussed.

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Anxiety
  • Attention*
  • Awareness*
  • Depression
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Feeding and Eating Disorders
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pennsylvania
  • Perception*
  • Pilot Projects
  • Program Development
  • Psychological Tests
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Surveys and Questionnaires