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Interpersonal Mindfulness: Scale Development and Initial Construct Validation

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Abstract

Existing trait mindfulness scales primarily assess mindfulness as it occurs outside interpersonal contexts. To more fully understand the possible relational benefits of mindfulness, the authors propose the construct of interpersonal mindfulness—mindfulness as it occurs during interpersonal interactions. The current work describes psychometric development and evaluation of an individual difference measure of interpersonal mindfulness, the interpersonal mindfulness scale (IMS). Exploratory and confirmatory multigroup factor analyses across five independent samples (N = 2085) revealed a hierarchical solution in which four first-order factors were components of a single higher-order interpersonal mindfulness factor. The four resulting subscales were named Presence, Awareness of Self and Others, Nonjudgmental Acceptance, and Nonreactivity. Study 2 showed acceptable test–retest reliability of the IMS over a 1-month period, and study 3 revealed that, among experienced meditation practitioners, greater years of meditation practice, frequency of meditation practice, and number of meditation retreats attended were associated with higher IMS scores. Study 4 provided evidence for convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity of the IMS using partial correlations, partialling out the shared variance of trait mindfulness, with intrapersonal, interpersonal, and relationship functioning variables. The value of this measure and construct for stimulating future research on the social consequences of being mindful while interacting with others is discussed with special regard to understanding the context of healthy relationships.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 104A McAlester Hall, 320 S. 6th Street, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Steven D. Pratscher, Phillip K. Wood, Laura A. King & B. Ann Bettencourt

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  1. Steven D. Pratscher
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  2. Phillip K. Wood
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  3. Laura A. King
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  4. B. Ann Bettencourt
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Contributions

SDP: designed the studies, analyzed the data, and wrote and revised the paper. PKW: conducted and wrote the multigroup CFA analyses and edited the manuscript. LAK: collaborated with scale refinement and study designs and assisted with organization of the manuscript. BAB: collaborated in conceptualizing and defining interpersonal mindfulness, generating items, designing studies, and editing all versions of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to B. Ann Bettencourt.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical Approval

The University of Missouri, Columbia Institutional Review Board approved this project. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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Appendix

Appendix

Interpersonal mindfulness scale

Instructions: Below is a collection of statements about your everyday experiences with other people

Using the scale, please indicate how frequently you have each experience. Answer according to what really reflects your experience rather than what you think your experience should be. Treat each item separately from every other item (1 = Almost never, Infrequently, Sometimes, Frequently, 5 = Almost Always).

  1. 1.

    When I am with other people, I am aware of my moods and emotions.

  2. 2.

    When I am conversing with another person, I am fully engaged in the conversation.

  3. 3.

    When in a discussion, I accept others have opinions different from mine.

  4. 4.

    In tense moments with another person, I am aware of my feelings but do not get taken over by them.

  5. 5.

    When a person is talking to me, I find myself thinking about other things, rather than giving them my full attention.

  6. 6.

    When I receive an angry text/email from someone, I try to understand their situation before responding.

  7. 7.

    I listen for the meaning behind another person’s words through their gestures and facial expressions.

  8. 8.

    When I am upset with someone, I notice how I am feeling before responding.

  9. 9.

    I listen carefully to another person, even when I disagree with them.

  10. 10.

    I find myself listening to someone with one ear while doing something else at the same time.

  11. 11.

    I take time to form my thoughts before speaking.

  12. 12.

    I think about the impact my words may have on another person before I speak.

  13. 13.

    When interacting with someone I know, I am often on autopilot, not really paying attention to what is actually happening in the moment.

  14. 14.

    When I am with another person, I try to accept how they are behaving without wanting them to behave differently.

  15. 15.

    I am aware of others moods and tone of voice while I am listening to them.

  16. 16.

    I am aware of my facial and body expressions when interacting with others.

  17. 17.

    When I am with others, I am easily distracted and my mind tends to wander.

  18. 18.

    When interacting with others, I am aware of their facial and body expressions.

  19. 19.

    I pick up on the intentions behind what another person is trying to say.

  20. 20.

    I listen to another person without judging or criticizing them.

  21. 21.

    I give the appearance of listening to another person when I am not really listening.

  22. 22.

    Before I speak, I am aware of the intentions behind what I am trying to say.

  23. 23.

    When I am interacting with another person, I get a sense of how they are feeling.

  24. 24.

    I accept that another person’s current situation or mood might influence their behavior.

  25. 25.

    Rather than being distracted, it is easy for me to be in the present moment while I am interacting with another person.

  26. 26.

    When speaking to another person, I am aware of how I feel inside.

  27. 27.

    I notice how my mood affects how I act towards others.

Note: Randomly order the items when administering the scale.

Scoring: * Indicates reverse scored item.

To compute a total interpersonal mindfulness score, reverse score the indicated items (i.e., 1 = 5, 2 = 4, 3 = 3. 4 = 2, 5 = 1) and calculate a mean.

Coding key:

Presence items: 2, 5*, 10*, 13*, 17*, 21*, 25.

Awareness of Self and Others items: 1, 7, 15, 16, 18, 19, 23, 24, 26, 27.

Nonjudgmental Acceptance items: 3, 9, 14, 20.

Nonreactivity items: 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 22.

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Pratscher, S.D., Wood, P.K., King, L.A. et al. Interpersonal Mindfulness: Scale Development and Initial Construct Validation. Mindfulness 10, 1044–1061 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-1057-2

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