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Measuring Mindfulness in Youth: Review of Current Assessments, Challenges, and Future Directions

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Abstract

Interest in mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for youth continues to grow across academic, clinical, educational, and community settings. Conclusions regarding the effects of mindfulness training with youth are tempered by methodological issues. One common limitation is the availability of reliable and valid ways to measure mindfulness. This review identifies existing youth mindfulness measures, discusses key challenges to measurement, and offers suggestions for improving assessment research. A search of electronic databases, consultation with colleagues, and data from professional meetings yielded seven self-report measures: (a) Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM); (b) Mindful Attention Awareness Scale for Adolescents (MAAS-A); (c) Mindful Attention Awareness Scale for Children (MAAS-C); (d) Comprehensive Inventory of Mindfulness Experiences-Adolescents (CHIME-A); (e) Mindful Thinking and Action Scale for Adolescents (MTASA); (f) Mindfulness Scale for Pre-Teens, Teens, and Adults (MSPTA); and (g) Mindfulness Inventory for Children and Adolescents (MICA). All seven assess trait mindfulness through self-report. We discuss methodological concerns regarding the near-exclusive use of self-report measures to assess youth mindfulness and offer suggestions for validating new measures and improving research studies that incorporate the assessment of mindfulness in youth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Matthew S. Goodman

  2. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA

    Laila A. Madni

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 2250 Alcazar Street, CSC, Suite 2200, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA

    Randye J. Semple

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Goodman, M.S., Madni, L.A. & Semple, R.J. Measuring Mindfulness in Youth: Review of Current Assessments, Challenges, and Future Directions. Mindfulness 8, 1409–1420 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0719-9

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