C onsidering the strengths and weaknesses of currently available inventories measuring mindfulness for Chinese population, a need for a short and comprehensive inventory was identified. The present study therefore developed a written Chinese version of the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale -Revised (CAMS-R) that excels in its full range of conceptual coverage, employs widely accessible language, and is brief in length. The reliability and validity of the Ch-CAMS-R was examined and found to be compatible with the original version and with other inventories measuring mindfulness. Results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) suggested allocation of two question items, without posing a threat to the four-factor (including attention, awareness, present-focus and acceptance) structure in both the CAMS-R and Ch-CAMS-R. In general, the present study supports that this four-factor structure is compatible with the conceptualidation of mindfulness in both United States and Hong Kong samples.Keywords: mindfulness, attention, awareness, acceptance, present-focus Mindfulness (Pali: sati; Sanskrit: smriti) is an elusive, yet central, idea in the 2,500-year-old tradition of Buddhist investigation and conceptualisation of mental process and functioning (Siegel, Germer, & Olendzki, 2009). Literally translatable from the original Pali as 'memory' or 'to remember' , mindfulness can generally be regarded as an observer's ability to become aware of, attend to, and remember phenomena in the internal and external milieux (Siegel et al., 2009;Travis & Pearson, 2000). A critical element of mindfulness is its potentiation of non-judgmental yet fully engaged awareness of positive, negative, or neutral aspects of ongoing subjective experience. In the same vein, mindfulness is written as in Chinese, Japanese Kanji and Korean Hanja. The ideograph can be decomposed into an upper component, , denoting the 'present moment' , and a lower component, , denoting an amalgam of 'mind' , 'hear' and 'attention' . The ideographic decomposition echoes the emphasis on a hereand-now, processual, attentional focus in the concept of mindfulness. A deeply mindful awareness is not easily distracted from its chosen object(s), whether by thoughts of the past and future, or by competing stimuli in the present (Smallwood & Schooler, 2006 Therapeutic MindfulnessThe meaning of mindfulness has been further modified during its ongoing application in the realm of contemporary psychotherapy. Bishop and colleagues (2004) proposed a two-component model to describe an updated operationalisation of mindfulness in clinical and therapeutic settings. The first component is self-regulation of attention, which involves sustained attention, attention switching, and the inhibition of elaborative processing that may distract from one's direct experience. This component is consistent with the element of here-and-now, present-centred attentional focus. Individuals make an effort to notice the dynamic flows of thoughts, feelings, and sen...

No abstract

The present study compared the roles of valence and arousal, proposed by the dimensional models of emotions, in recognizing emotional expressions. It was hypothesized that the dimension of valence, due to its functional significance, would be more salient in the recognition of emotional expressions than the dimension of arousal would be. The results of the current study supported this hypothesis. The participants in all age groups were more accurate and quicker in recognizing an emotion when the expression was paired up with another emotional expression that was different in the polarity of the valence dimension than with this similar polarity difference in the arousal dimension. The insignificant difference in recognizing the positive and negative emotional expressions in the group of elders also rejected the Socio-Emotional Selectivity Theory.

No abstract

This study was a preliminary attempt to develop and examine an online pain management programme incorporating mindfulness‐informed exercises (i.e. breathing and body scanning exercises) and CBT elements for ankylosing spondylitis patients. Thirty patients diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis participated in a five‐week online pain management programme, which was delivered primarily through a website. The materials covered by the website included breathing and body scanning exercises, mindful walking exercise, positive thinking and management of dysfunctional thinking. Each participant received instructions and reminders from a counselling psychologist through electronic communications each week. They completed the Brief Pain Inventory, Ryff's Psychological Well‐being Scale, Pain Self‐Efficacy Questionnaire, Pain Catastrophizing Scale and Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale‐Revised before and after the treatment programme. In addition, four face‐to‐face focus groups were conducted to yield supplementary qualitative findings. The overall results indicate that this online pain management programme can improve sleep quality and reduce pain interference and catastrophic responses to pain in ankylosing spondylitis patients, albeit being not very effective for mitigating the intensity of pain. Moreover, male and female patients can benefit equally from the online programme. Findings from the focus groups revealed some challenges faced by local patients when practising mindfulness‐informed exercises. Some solutions to those challenges were put forward in accordance with patients’ feedback.