Development of the Sexual Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-S): Validation Among a Community Sample of French-Speaking Women

Abstract

It has been recently demonstrated that mindfulness-based intervention may be particularly suitable for addressing sexual difficulties in women. Although the FiveFacet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) is currently one of the most widely used scales to assess mindfulness, no adaptation and validation of the FFMQ to measure female sexual functioning has been published. The main aim of this study was to develop and validate a sexual version of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-S) to specifically measure mindfulness in the context of sexual encounters. A total of 251 healthy, French-speaking female volunteers were administered the FFMQ-S, the original FFMQ, and the Female Sexual Distress Scale (FSDS-R). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the FFMQ-S exhibits a five-factor model, as implied by the original FFMQ. Good scale reliability was observed. The FFMQ-S showed significant correlations with the FSDS-R and the usual FFMQ. Scores on the FFMQ-S correlated significa... It has been recently demonstrated that mindfulness-based intervention may be particularly suitable for addressing sexual difficulties in women. Although the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) is currently one of the most widely used scales to assess mindfulness, no adaptation and validation of the FFMQ to measure female sexual functioning has been published. The main aim of this study was to develop and validate a sexual version of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-S) to specifically measure mindfulness in the context of sexual encounters. A total of 251 healthy, French-speaking female volunteers were administered the FFMQ-S, the original FFMQ, and the Female Sexual Distress Scale (FSDS-R). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the FFMQ-S exhibits a five-factor model, as implied by the original FFMQ. Good scale reliability was observed. The FFMQ-S showed significant correlations with the FSDS-R and the usual FFMQ. Scores on the FFMQ-S correlated significantly more negatively with the total FSDS-R score than with the total score of the original version of the FFMQ. These findings clearly support the relevance of developing a version of the FFMQ tailored to sexual functioning.

Zen and the art of sex: examining associations among mindfulness, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction in dating relationships

“…These findings corroborate well established theories of sexuality, which posit that paying attention to here-and-now sensations and reducing tendencies to evaluate or judge one's own or one's partner's performance during sexual activity are important for satisfied, quality sexual experiences with one's romantic partner (Masters & Johnson, 1970). Furthermore, results from the present study complement previous findings of significant correlations between all but the Nonreactivity to Inner Experience facets of mindfulness and sexual functioning (Adam et al, 2014), lending further support to the notion that the five facets of mindfulness may differentially contribute to the sexual and relationship functioning of romantic partners.…”

“…However, only one previous study has used Baer and colleagues' five-factor measure to assess links between mindfulness and sexual functioning. In this study, scores on the Observing of Experience, Describing with Words, Acting with Awareness, and Nonjudging of Inner Experience facets of mindfulness, as well as overall level of trait mindfulness, were negatively associated with sexual distress in a sample of adult women (Adam, Heeren, Day, & de Sutter, 2014).…”

How Personal Factors Influence Academic Behavior and GPA in African American STEM Students

“…Several versions of the FFMQ have been validated for use in a large number of populations. In addition, it has been validated for use with meditators and nonmeditators and with individuals suffering from a wide range of clinical psychological and medical conditions (Adam, Heeren, Day, & de Sutter, 2014;Barros, Kozasa, Souza, & Ronzani, 2014;Cebolla et al 2012;Christopher, Neuser, Michael, & Baitmangalkar, 2012;de Bruin, Topper, Muskens, Bögels, & Kamphuis, 2012;Deng, Liu, Rodriguez, & Xia, 2011).…”

Psychological Factors Involved in Sexual Desire, Sexual Activity, and Sexual Satisfaction: A Multi-factorial Perspective

“…Brown and Ryan (2003) considered "attention to and awareness of what is occurring in the present" (p. 824) as a central aspect of mindfulness, unlike non-reactivity, non-judgment, or acceptance, which might be outcomes of practicing mindfulness (see Jermann et al, 2009 for a review). Moreover, a recent study (Adam, Heeren, Day, & de Sutter, 2014) has shown significant negative links between a sexual mindfulness scale and sexual distress among women. In particular, the study revealed that the facets describing (e.g.,"I easily feel my emotions during sexual intercourse") and acting with awareness (e.g., "I usually feel quite available and present during sexual intercourse") were significantly more related to the absence of sexual distress than the other facets of the scale (observing, non-judging of inner experience and non-reactivity to inner experience).…”