Monitoring mindfulness practice quality: An important consideration in mindfulness practice

Summary

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a group intervention that reduces psychological symptoms, but which specific aspects of the practice drive those improvements is unclear. A new measure of mindfulness practice quality (PQ-M) was validated using exploratory factor analysis with 99 participants, showing a two-factor structure. In a smaller subsample of 19 participants, changes in practice quality over the course of MBSR were linked to reductions in psychological symptoms. Although exploratory, the findings suggest that the quality of mindfulness practice, not just its quantity, may be a relevant factor for improving outcomes and could help instructors tailor interventions.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an experientially based group intervention empirically supported to reduce psychological symptomology. Although MBSR has shown to be an effective intervention, little is known about which facets of the intervention are important in producing positive outcomes. This study tested several aspects of mindfulness practice (total practice duration, practice frequency and practice quality) with the primary focus being on validating (i.e., predictive and convergent validity) a new measure of mindfulness practice quality (PQ-M). The PQ-M fit a two-factor solution via a Maximum Likelihood Exploratory Factor Analysis (n=99). Using longitudinal multilevel modeling on a smaller subsample (n=19), preliminary support was found for changes in practice quality over the course of the MBSR intervention. Further, change in practice quality was associated with improvements in psychological symptoms. While this study was exploratory, these findings suggest that practice quality is a relevant factor to promote positive outcomes and may guide mindfulness instructors in providing highly tailored interventions.