Refinement and Validation of the Balanced Inventory of Mindfulness-Related Skills (BIMS)

The goal of the current study was to refine and validate a revision of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), with the goal of retaining its useful features and mitigating those features that have been identified to be problematic. A 30-item pilot version of the Balanced Inventory of Mindfulness-related Skills (BIMS) was developed by implementing the structured alternative item format (presenting both positive and negative aspects of each item) and revising the wording of items. Herein, we collected data from a convenience sample of n = 1014 individuals, reduced to n = 757 after data cleaning. We conducted exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) on randomly separated subsets of the sample and explored response patterns and correlations with relevant measures (including a short-form of the FFMQ). Parallel analysis and EFA indicated a five-factor, correlated structure across a final 27 items (omitting 3 items due to poor fit), confirmed by CFA. A full sample CFA using an asymptotically distribution free fit function indicated excellent model fit (CFI/TLI > 0.99, RMSEA < 0.05, SRMR < 0.05). The BIMS scales exhibited strong correlations with the FFMQ subscales and related scales. The scale did not, however, reduce correlations with social desirability, which has been shown to be associated with method effects. The BIMS represents a psychometrically sound revision of the FFMQ that retains the five-factor structure of the original scale while eliminating method effects. It is strongly correlated with the original scale and exhibits comparable correlations with attentional control, emotion regulation, and personality characteristics. Critically, the BIMS represents a measure of mindfulness-related skills, shifting the focus to clinically relevant constructs that may interact but do not necessarily sum to a unitary trait.