Development and Validation of the Inventory of Meditation Experiences (IME)
Mindfulness June 1, 2024 Nicholas T. Dam, Jessica Targett, Alex Burger et al. 9 citations
A new questionnaire, the Inventory of Meditation Experiences (IME), captures a wide range of meditation-related experiences, from pleasant to unpleasant and mild to intense. Developed with data from 886 US meditators, the final 30-item scale has three factors and shows good statistical fit. The IME correlates as expected with measures of adverse effects, meditation habits, and mental health symptoms. The tool allows researchers to assess both the intensity and subjective valence of experiences separately or together, offering a more nuanced way to study the full spectrum of meditation-related psychological states.