Validation of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-Bangla Using Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Mindfulness-based interventions are common in contemporary mental health practices. Hence, the assessment of mindfulness is necessary during those interventions, and the 39-item Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) is one of the most frequently used tools. As there is a scarcity of mindfulness scales for Bangla-speaking people, we translated this questionnaire into Bangla and validated it with a Bangladeshi community sample. Method We collected data from 532 Bangladeshi adults (mean age = 30.22; SD = 5.19), of which 390 were females and 142 were males. The participants completed FFMQ-Bangla, Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, Emotional Intelligence Scale, Depression Scale, and Openness and Neuroticism sub-scales of the Big Five Personality Inventory. Item response theory–based analysis evaluated the item quality of the Bangla FFMQ. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) assessed the scale’s structural validity. Results Item response theory–based analysis discarded 10 items. Both CFA and ESEM supported the five-faceted model (CFA: CFI = 0.94; TLI = 0.94; ESEM: CFI = 0.99; TLI = 0.99) and indicated satisfactory reliability for the remaining 29-item scale (≥ 0.80). ESEM revealed two general components (self-regulated attention and orientation to experience) encompassing the five facets (CFI = 0.99; TLI = 0.93). All those facets exhibited positive correlations with the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, Emotional Intelligence Scale, and the Openness trait and negative correlations with Depression and the Neuroticism trait, revealing the scale’s concurrent validity. Conclusions Since the FFMQ-Bangla has exhibited satisfactory reliability and structural and concurrent validity, we recommend that researchers and mental health practitioners use this scale to assess mindfulness among Bangla-speaking people. Preregistration This study is not preregistered.