Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Psychometric Investigation of the Five Facets of Mindfulness and Well-Being Measures in the Kingdom of Bhutan and the USA

  • ORIGINAL PAPER
  • Published:
Mindfulness Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

Mindfulness is derived from Eastern and Buddhist traditions and is associated with the improvement of psychological well-being (WB). However, many empirical approaches designed to measure dispositional mindfulness and WB have been developed and validated within Western and non-Buddhist cultural contexts. Here, we sought to investigate the structure of dispositional mindfulness and WB in the Kingdom of Bhutan, a country characterized by an Eastern, Buddhist cultural context.

Methods

Self-report data were collected using the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and standardized WB (hedonic and eudaimonic) measures in Bhutan and in the USA. Data were subjected to a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to examine the factor structure of each measure in both samples.

Results

For the FFMQ, we found that a four-factor correlated model (excluding the observe facet) best fit the sample data in Bhutan and in the USA. For WB, we did not observe a clear distinction in terms of goodness of fit indices between the one- and two-factor hierarchical models. We did observe that across both samples, the hedonia and eudaimonia WB factors were highly correlated with one another suggesting that a one-factor solution may be optimal. Multigroup CFA analysis demonstrated that while the majority of models displayed adequate configural invariance, the only model displaying adequate metric invariance was the hierarchical four-factor model of the FFMQ data.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that the way mindfulness and WB are conceptualized in a country characterized by an Eastern and Buddhist cultural context is different than in the USA.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abbott, R. A., Ploubidis, G. B., Huppert, F. A., Kuh, D., Wadsworth, M. E., & Croudace, T. J. (2006). Psychometric evaluation and predictive validity of Ryff’s psychological well-being items in a UK birth cohort sample of women. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 4(1), 76.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Akaike, H. (1974). A new look at the statistical model identification. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 19(6), 716–723.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arcidiacono, C., & Di Martino, S. (2016). A critical analysis of happiness and well-being. Where we stand now, where we need to go. Community Psychology in Global Perspective, 2(1), 6–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13(1), 27–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Lykins, E., Button, D., Krietemeyer, J., Sauer, S., et al. (2008). Construct validity of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in meditating and nonmeditating samples. Assessment, 15(3), 329–342.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bagozzi, R. P., & Edwards, J. R. (1998). A general approach for representing constructs in organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 1(1), 45–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barry, J. M., & Doney, P. M. (2011). Cross-cultural examination of relationship quality. Journal of Global Marketing, 24(4), 305–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2), 238–246.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bentler, P. M., & Bonett, D. G. (1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88(3), 588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biswas-Diener, R., Diener, E., & Lyubchik, N. (2015). Wellbeing in Bhutan. International Journal of Wellbeing, 5(2), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bohlmeijer, E., Ten Klooster, P. M., Fledderus, M., Veehof, M., & Baer, R. (2011). Psychometric properties of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in depressed adults and development of a short form. Assessment, 18(3), 308–320.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burzler, M. A., Voracek, M., Hos, M., & Tran, U. S. (2018). Mechanisms of mindfulness in the general population. Mindfulness, 1–12.

  • Brown, T. A. (2014). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York: Guilford Publications.

  • Brunet, S., Bauer, J., De Lacy, T., & Tshering, K. (2001). Tourism development in Bhutan: tensions between tradition and modernity. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 9(3), 243–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burns, G. W. (2011). Gross national happiness: a gift from Bhutan to the world. In R. Biswas-Diener (Ed.), Positive psychology as social change (pp. 73–87). Dordrecht: Springer.

  • Carmody, J., & Baer, R. A. (2008). Relationships between mindfulness practice and levels of mindfulness, medical and psychological symptoms and well-being in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31(1), 23–33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cebolla, A., García-Palacios, A., Soler, J., Guillen, V., Baños, R., & Botella, C. (2012). Psychometric properties of the Spanish validation of the five facets of mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ). The European Journal of Psychiatry, 26(2), 118–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, F. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 14(3), 464–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christopher, M. S., Charoensuk, S., Gilbert, B. D., Neary, T. J., & Pearce, K. L. (2009a). Mindfulness in Thailand and the United States: a case of apples versus oranges? Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65(6), 590–612.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Christopher, M. S., Christopher, V., & Charoensuk, S. (2009b). Assessing “western” mindfulness among Thai Theravāda Buddhist monks. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 12(3), 303–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christopher, M. S., Neuser, N. J., Michael, P. G., & Baitmangalkar, A. (2012). Exploring the psychometric properties of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire. Mindfulness, 3(2), 124–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coyne, J. C. (2013). Highly correlated hedonic and eudaimonic well-being thwart genomic analysis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(45), E4183–E4183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curtiss, J., & Klemanski, D. H. (2014). Factor analysis of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in a heterogeneous clinical sample. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 36(4), 683–694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De, S. (2017). Cultural context connections between Bhutan and Australia: research notes on instructional design. South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, 4(2), 161–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Bruin, E. I., Topper, M., Muskens, J. G., Bögels, S. M., & Kamphuis, J. H. (2012). Psychometric properties of the five facets mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ) in a meditating and a non-meditating sample. Assessment, 19(2), 187–197.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deegan, J., Jr. (1978). On the occurrence of standardized regression coefficients greater than one. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 38(4), 873–888.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desrosiers, A., Klemanski, D. H., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2013). Mapping mindfulness facets onto dimensions of anxiety and depression. Behavior Therapy, 44(3), 373–384.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Deng, Y. Q., Liu, X. H., Rodriguez, M. A., & Xia, C. Y. (2011). The five facet mindfulness questionnaire: psychometric properties of the Chinese version. Mindfulness, 2(2), 123–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95(3), 542–575.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (2009). Subjective well-being. In E. Diener (Ed.), The science of well-being (pp. 11–58). Dordrecht: Springer.

  • Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Disabato, D. J., Goodman, F. R., Kashdan, T. B., Short, J. L., & Jarden, A. (2016). Different types of well-being? A cross-cultural examination of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Psychological Assessment, 28(5), 471–482.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez, A. C., Wood, M. D., Stein, L. A. R., & Rossi, J. S. (2010). Measuring mindfulness and examining its relationship with alcohol use and negative consequences. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 24(4), 608–616.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher, M. W., Lopez, S. J., & Preacher, K. J. (2009). The hierarchical structure of well-being. Journal of Personality, 77(4), 1025–1050.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ghorbani, N., Watson, P., & Weathington, B. L. (2009). Mindfulness in Iran and the United States: cross-cultural structural complexity and parallel relationships with psychological adjustment. Current Psychology, 28(4), 211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gu, J., Strauss, C., Crane, C., Barnhofer, T., Karl, A., Cavanagh, K., & Kuyken, W. (2016). Examining the factor structure of the 39-item and 15-item versions of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire before and after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for people with recurrent depression. Psychological Assessment, 28(7), 791–802.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G. (1983). National cultures in four dimensions: a research-based theory of cultural differences among nations. International Studies of Management and Organization, 13(1–2), 46–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede-Insights. (2018). Country comparison. Retrieved from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/bhutan,the-usa/. Accessed Aug 2018.

  • Hou, J., Wong, S. Y.-S., Lo, H. H.-M., Mak, W. W.-S., & Ma, H. S.-W. (2014). Validation of a Chinese version of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in Hong Kong and development of a short form. Assessment, 21(3), 363–371.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L. t., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joshanloo, M. (2017). Structural and discriminant validity of the tripartite model of mental well-being: differential relationships with the big five traits. Journal of Mental Health, 1–7.

  • Joshanloo, M., Bobowik, M., & Basabe, N. (2016). Factor structure of mental well-being: contributions of exploratory structural equation modeling. Personality and Individual Differences, 102, 107–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 144–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, M. T. ‘The remote Kingdom of Bhutan'. New York Times, November 16, 1980, p. 1.

  • Kitayama, S., Markus, H. R., Matsumoto, H., & Norasakkunkit, V. (1997). Individual and collective processes in the construction of the self: self-enhancement in the United States and self-criticism in Japan. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(6), 1245–1267.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lemmens, J. S., Valkenburg, P. M., & Gentile, D. A. (2015). The internet gaming disorder scale. Psychological Assessment, 27(2), 567–582.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lilja, J. L., Lundh, L.-G., Josefsson, T., & Falkenström, F. (2013). Observing as an essential facet of mindfulness: a comparison of FFMQ patterns in meditating and non-meditating individuals. Mindfulness, 4(3), 203–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linley, P. A., Maltby, J., Wood, A. M., Osborne, G., & Hurling, R. (2009). Measuring happiness: the higher order factor structure of subjective and psychological well-being measures. Personality and Individual Differences, 47(8), 878–884.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Little, T. D., Cunningham, W. A., Shahar, G., & Widaman, K. F. (2002). To parcel or not to parcel: exploring the question, weighing the merits. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(2), 151–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Longo, Y., Coyne, I., Joseph, S., & Gustavsson, P. (2016). Support for a general factor of well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 100, 68–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malinowski, P., & Lim, H. J. (2015). Mindfulness at work: positive affect, hope, and optimism mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, work engagement, and well-being. Mindfulness, 6(6), 1250–1262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marks, T. A. (1977). Historical observations on Buddhism in Bhutan. The Tibet Journal, 2(2), 74–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., Hau, K.T., Balla, J. R., & Grayson, D. (1998). Is more ever too much? The number of indicators per factor in confirmatory factor analysis. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 33(2), 181–220.

  • Medvedev, O. N., Siegert, R. J., Kersten, P., & Krägeloh, C. U. (2017). Improving the precision of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire using a Rasch approach. Mindfulness, 8(4), 995–1008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menon, P., Doddoli, S., Singh, S., & Bhogal, R. S. (2014). Personality correlates of mindfulness: a study in an Indian setting. Yoga Mimamsa, 46(1), 29–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munro, L. T. (2016). Where did Bhutan’s gross national happiness come from? The origins of an invented tradition. Asian Affairs, 47(1), 71–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Statistical Bureau. (2017). Statistical Yearbook of Bhutan 2016.

  • Raphiphatthana, B., Jose, P. E., & Chobthamkit, P. (2018). The association between mindfulness and grit: an east vs. west cross-cultural comparison. Mindfulness, 1–13.

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: a review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 141–166.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, S. (2011). Mindfulness in east and west—is it the same? In H. Walach, S. Schmidt, & W. B. Jonas (Eds.), Neuroscience, consciousness and spirituality (pp. 23–38). Dordrecht: Springer.

  • Steiger, J. H. (1990). Structural model evaluation and modification: an interval estimation approach. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 25(2), 173–180.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiura, Y., Sato, A., Ito, Y., & Murakami, H. (2012). Development and validation of the Japanese version of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire. Mindfulness, 3(2), 85–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tran, U. S., Cebolla, A., Glück, T. M., Soler, J., Garcia-Campayo, J., & Von Moy, T. (2014). The serenity of the meditating mind: a cross-cultural psychometric study on a two-factor higher order structure of mindfulness, its effects, and mechanisms related to mental health among experienced meditators. PLoS One, 9(10), e110192.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tran, U. S., Glück, T. M., & Nader, I. W. (2013). Investigating the five facet mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ): construction of a short form and evidence of a two-factor higher order structure of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(9), 951–965.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Virlley, N., & Reddy, J. K. (2016). The relationship between dispositional mindfulness, marital adjustment and psychological well-being among military wives. Indian Journal of Health & Wellbeing, 7(8), 799–802.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. Annual Review in Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson-Singleton, N. N., Walker, J. H., LoParo, D., Mack, S. A., & Kaslow, N. J. (2018). Psychometric evaluation of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in a clinical sample of African Americans. Mindfulness, 9(1), 312–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, M. J., Dalgleish, T., Karl, A., & Kuyken, W. (2014). Examining the factor structures of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire and the self-compassion scale. Psychological Assessment, 26(2), 407–418.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Brian W. Haas

  2. Sherubtse College, Royal University of Bhutan, Thimphu, Bhutan

    Brian W. Haas & Yoshio Akamatsu

  3. The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Yoshio Akamatsu

Authors
  1. Brian W. Haas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yoshio Akamatsu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

BWH designed the study, executed the study, performed data analyses, and wrote the initial version of the manuscript. YA assisted with data collection and edited the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brian W. Haas.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures involving human participants performed in studies were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration. The University of Georgia IRB approved this study.

Informed Consent

All participants provided informed consent to be included in this study.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Haas, B.W., Akamatsu, Y. Psychometric Investigation of the Five Facets of Mindfulness and Well-Being Measures in the Kingdom of Bhutan and the USA. Mindfulness 10, 1339–1351 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-1089-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-1089-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation