Browsing by Subject "psychometric"
Item Measuring Mindfulness in Meditators, and Examining How Aspects of Meditation Practice Affect Mindfulness(2012-12-02) Leinberger, Katherine 1975-Mindfulness is an element of consciousness which has historically been associated with well-being. Mindfulness-based clinical interventions intend on reducing cognitive vulnerability to emotional distress and have produced promising results. Such endeavors however rest upon the dissent that remains among researchers on how to operationally define the construct. Measuring mindfulness in a valid and reliable manner is an essential part of scientific inquiry and facilitates the effort to define the construct. This study examines three newer self-report mindfulness instruments; Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS) and the Experiences Questionnaire (EQ). A sample of non-meditators (Texas A&M University students; n =141) and meditators (non-clinical population from Bay Area, California; n =157) with a wide range of meditation experience completed the instruments. Multiple correlations allowed for an in-depth examination of the measures at full-scale and sub-scale level and all yielded significant and positive relations. Regression analyses established that meditation does increase mindfulness scores as measured by the FFMQ, TMS and EQ. Sub-scales FFMQ Observe, FFMQ Non React and TMS Decenter increased most of the combined eight facets; while FFMQ Describe and FFMQ Aware increased least. Lastly, the study examined how various aspects of meditation practice affect total mindfulness. Aspects of practice included: Number of sittings per week (sit/wk); time spent per meditation sitting (time/med); how long the participant has engaged in formal meditation (how long) and style of meditation (style). Meditation styles were grouped into the following categories; 1) Mindfulness, Vipassana, Zen and Shambhala; 2) Concentration and Transcendental; 3) Blend and 4) ?I don?t know?. ?Sit/wk?, ?how long? and ?style? were predictive of total mindfulness, with ?how long? being the strongest predictor. All the mindfulness facets were predicted by meditation style except for FFMQ Observe, FFMQ Describe and TMS Curiosity. Meditation styles mindfulness, Vipassana, Zen and Shambhala were associated with the highest mindfulness scores.Item Self-efficacy for weight loss among multi-ethnic, low-income women: a psychometric evaluation(2009-08) Latimer, Lara Adrienne; Pasch, Keryn E.; Walker, LorraineThe current study examined the psychometric properties of the Physical Activity and Nutrition Self-Efficacy (PANSE) scale. If proven a valid and reliable measure of self-efficacy for weight-loss behaviors, the PANSE scale may be useful in future research involving activity and nutrition for weight loss. This is particularly important given today’s high prevalence of overweight and obesity, which may be curtailed with increased levels of activity and/or improved food-related behaviors. Initial reliability and validity testing was performed using a sample of 71 women low-income in central Texas. The average age of the participants was 24.5 ± 4.75 years; 35.2% were African American, 32.4% were Hispanic, and 32.4% were White. The women completed the 11-item PANSE questionnaire at baseline and at a 7-week follow-up data collection. Test-retest results provided reliability evidence, and there was sufficient evidence of internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.89). Construct validity was established with significant correlations in expected directions with the Self Care Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, and Decisional Balance Inventory. The predictive validity of the PANSE scale for weight-loss at 7-week follow-up and program drop out was not established. Exploratory factor analyses revealed a 2-factor model for the 11 items. Initial examination provided evidence for the reliability and construct validity of the PANSE scale. Future testing of the scale should to be conducted with other populations to assess the generalizability of the PANSE scale outside of the population studied in the current report.