Purpose: Mindfulness as a preventive and therapeutic method that has attracted a lot of attention among psychologists, psychotherapists and researchers in recent years; in its main concepts such as awareness, acceptance and being in the present, it is very similar to Islamic concepts such as knowledge, accepting the will of God and awareness that necessitates the existence of tools to measure it to help psychological sciences and Islamic studies researchers. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric adequacy of the Persian version of the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS).
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted with a descriptive method of standardization in the students of Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch and 300 persons were enrolled in the study by cluster sampling. The instruments used were the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS) and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). PHLMS factor structure was examined using confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis methods., Convergence validity with FFMQ, and reliability using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Data were also analyzed in SPSS.23 and AMOS.22 software.
Results: In the confirmatory factor analysis, Two-factor model of the original version of PHLMS (awareness and acceptance) was not confirmed. Based on the results of exploratory factor analysis, three factors of awareness, acceptance, and recognition of negative emotions were extracted and the confirmation factor analysis confirmed this model. The convergent validity of this questionnaire was very favorable with FFMQ (r=0.78, P<0.0001). In addition, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for total PHLMS was 0.92 and the three subscales awareness, acceptance, and recognition of negative emotions were 0.80, 0.86, and 0.87, respectively.
Conclusion: PHLMS is a valid tool with good psychometric competence for measuring awareness, acceptance, and recognition of negative emotions for use in the research and clinical fields of psychological and Islamic studies of Iranian adults.