DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE MINDFULNESS INVENTORY OF KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES-16 (MIKA-16): FACTOR STRUCTURE, INTERNAL CONSISTENCY AND VALIDATION ANALYSES

Abstract

Beneficial effects of mindfulness on one’s well-being have been widely discussed, with numerous mindfulness scales being developed to evaluate mindfulness in research. However, researchers have highlighted limitations of existing mindfulness scales and the need for a universally-appropriate and multi-faceted scale is warranted for further research. The purpose of the current study was to develop and provide an initial validation of a universal, multi-dimensional mindfulness scale to measure one’s mindfulness abilities across one’s course of mindfulness practice. In this paper, the development and psychometric validation of Mindfulness Inventory of Knowledge and Abilities-16 (MIKA-16) is described. A mixed sample of 286 participants, comprising 160 NUS participants and 126 community participants, participated in an online questionnaire that comprised MIKA-16 developed by the research team, demographic questions, other mindfulness and well-being scales administered for correlation and validation analyses. Results from exploratory factor analyses indicated that MIKA-16 has a stable three-factor structure and demonstrated adequate internal consistency. Convergent and divergent validity were supported as its relationship with related positive and negative well-being constructs were largely significant and aligned with predictions. Additionally, MIKA-16 demonstrated preliminary evidence in differentiating individuals with differing mindfulness experience, particularly among highly experienced mindfulness practitioners and non-practitioners. Referencing from current mindfulness literature, MIKA-16 was proposed as a developmental model of mindfulness abilities, where one acquires these abilities in three developmental stages, namely Focus, Turning Inward and Wise Mind. Limitations of the current study, future directions for further validation of MIKA-16 as well as its potential utility in mindfulness-based interventions are discussed.