Psychometric Evaluation of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in a Clinical Sample of African Americans

The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), a widely used and comprehensive assessment of mindfulness, has demonstrated promising psychometric properties among non-clinical and clinical samples and among diverse international samples. Yet, to date, no studies have examined its factor structure, reliability, and validity in a clinical sample of United States (USA) underrepresented minorities. The current study addressed this by investigating the factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity of the FFMQ among 283 low-income African American adults with a recent suicide attempt. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 20-item, five-factor measure: acting with awareness, describing, non-judging, observing, and non-reacting. Confirmatory factor analysis supported this reduced item five-factor structure. Internal consistency coefficients ranged from 60–86, but test-retest reliability coefficients did not support the temporal stability. Construct validity was supported; FFMQ facets were correlated with theoretically related constructs, such as self-compassion and self-criticism. Several facets were negatively associated with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, and the describing facet demonstrated unique predictive validity for depressive symptoms. These findings support the cultural relevance and utility of the FFMQ with African Americans with significant psychological distress.