Psychometric properties of the Short-Form Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire among nursing students in China: A confirmatory factor analysis.

The Chinese Short-Form Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-SF) shows good overall fit for measuring mindfulness in nursing students in mainland China, with confirmatory factor analyses supporting a five-factor structure. Composite reliability values ranged from 0.685 to 0.870, and average variance extracted values from 0.426 to 0.627. One-factor models provided the best fit for four of the five subscales. The cross-sectional study included 240 undergraduate nursing students from a Beijing school of nursing who completed the FFMQ-SF and the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale. Results suggest the scale is a valid instrument for assessing mindfulness and its relationship with mental health in this population.

Study at a glance

Abstract

To analyse the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Chinese Short-Form Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-SF) among nursing students in the Chinese mainland. A cross-sectional study. A total of 240 undergraduate nursing students were recruited from a school of nursing in Beijing, China from 25 to 30 April 2021. FFMQ-SF and Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale were used to collect information on the mindfulness level and mental health status of the study participants. Descriptive analyses were performed to examine the demographic characteristics. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were used to test the structural, convergent and discriminant validity of the scale model. Pearson correlation analysis was used to test the correlation between the variables and the criterion validity. The overall fit of the scale model is good (Bollen-Stine χ2 = 177.206, df = 142, GFI = 0.923, AGFI = 0.883, TLI = 0.980, CFI = 0.983, RMSEA = 0.032, SRMR = 0.090). One-factor models using CFA demonstrated the overall best fit for four out of five subscales of the FFMQ-SF. In the five-factor CFA of the FFMQ-SF, the composite reliability values of the five factors were from 0.685 to 0.870 and the values of average variance extracted were from 0.426 to 0.627. The students who participated in this study contributed to the advancement of knowledge on mindfulness and mental health among nursing students in China. They voluntarily completed the online questionnaires and provided their honest and valid responses. Their data was used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the FFMQ-SF and to examine the relationship between mindfulness and psychological problems. Their feedback also helped to improve the quality and applicability of the FFMQ-SF instrument for future research and practice.