Revalidation of the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale — Revised (CAMS-R) With Its Newly Developed Chinese Version (Ch-CAMS-R)

Abstract

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...

Flow in the Time of COVID-19: Findings from China

“…Mindfulness experienced during the past week was assessed using the 12-item Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (Feldman et al, 2007; e.g., "It is easy for me to concentrate on what I am doing," "I try to notice my thoughts without judging them"; 1 = rarely/not at all, 4 = almost always; M = 2.50; SD = .47, α = .75). 1 This measure has undergone extensive validation (Feldman et al, 2007), including in China (Chan, Lo, Lin, & Thompson, 2016).…”

A preliminary study of an online pain management programme for patients with ankylosing spondylitis

“…The CAMS‐R (Feldman, Hayes, Kumar, Greeson, & Laurenceau, 2007) contains 12 test items examining four aspects of dispositional mindfulness: attention, present‐focus, awareness and acceptance. Cronbach's alpha of this inventory reported by previous researchers ranged between .66 and .80 (Chan et al, 2015; Thompson & Waltz, 2008; Wolever et al, 2012). The current Chinese version (Chan et al, 2015) has been confirmed to have the same four‐factor structure.…”

“…Cronbach's alpha of this inventory reported by previous researchers ranged between .66 and .80 (Chan et al, 2015; Thompson & Waltz, 2008; Wolever et al, 2012). The current Chinese version (Chan et al, 2015) has been confirmed to have the same four‐factor structure.…”

“…In its application in psychotherapy, mindfulness can be characterised by attention regulation and attitudinal orientation in a two‐component model (Bishop et al, 2004). Attention regulation generally involves the execution of sustained attention, switching attention and focusing, whereas attitudinal orientation refers to a capacity of psychological openness and acceptance of current situations (Chan, Lo, Lin, & Thompson, 2015). Cherkin et al (2016) conducted a study aimed at comparing the effects of mindfulness‐based stress reduction and CBT on chronic low back pain.…”

Flow in the time of COVID-19: Findings from China

“…Mindfulness experienced during the past week was assessed using the 12-item Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised [ 37 ] (e.g., “It is easy for me to concentrate on what I am doing,” “I try to notice my thoughts without judging them”; 1 = rarely/not at all , 4 = almost always; M = 2.50; SD = .47, α = .75). This measure has undergone extensive validation [ 37 ], including in China [ 38 ]. The correlation between flow and mindfulness was quite strong, r (5115) = .56, p < .0001, although not so strong as to suggest that they represent the same construct.…”