What Do We Know About the Validity and Reliability of Mindfulness Self-Report Measures in Persons with Dementia? A Critical Narrative Review.

Mindfulness-based interventions for people with dementia have shown inconsistent results, partly because the accuracy of self-reported mindfulness measures in this population is poorly understood. This narrative review examined studies that used self-reported trait mindfulness alongside other clinical measures to assess convergent validity and reliability in people with dementia. After screening 582 studies from PubMed and PsychInfo, only four cross-sectional studies allowed inferences about validity. Convergent validity varied with sample heterogeneity and cognitive impairment. Only one mindfulness-based intervention included a self-report trait mindfulness measure, but it did not report sample-specific validity or reliability. The review concludes that basic psychometric information is minimal and that results of mindfulness-based interventions should be interpreted cautiously.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for persons with dementia (PwD) have yielded mixed results, possibly attributable to the fact that little is known about the validity and reliability of trait mindfulness self-report measures in PwD. This narrative review sought to identify studies involving self-reported trait mindfulness and other clinical measures that may hold information on the convergent validity and reliability of these measures in PwD. Scientific databases were searched for studies involving PwD and mindfulness assessments. N = 426 studies from PubMed and N = 156 from PsychInfo databases were reviewed. Four cross-sectional studies were identified that allowed inferences about the validity of mindfulness measures. A qualitative review indicated that convergent validity with other measures varied with sample heterogeneity and cognitive impairment. Merely one MBI included self-reported trait mindfulness, however without reporting sample-specific validity or reliability. Despite efforts to implement MBIs in PwD, information on basic methodological psychometric issues is minimal. Future studies ought to address the validity and reliability of self-reported mindfulness in detail across different stages of dementia. Results of MBIs need to be considered cautiously. Basic information about psychometric properties of mindfulness self-report measures is required and these measures need to be included systematically in MBIs.