Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ)

Abstract

The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), developed by Baer and colleagues in 2006, is a comprehensive self-report instrument designed to measure dispositional mindfulness. It represents a synthesis of items from five previously existing mindfulness scales, consolidated through factor analysis to provide a robust, multidimensional assessment of the construct.

The FFMQ operationalizes mindfulness into five distinct, yet correlated, dimensions: Observing, Describing, Acting with Awareness, Non-judging of Inner Experience, and Non-reactivity to Inner Experience. This structure allows researchers and clinicians to examine the differential roles these facets play in psychological health and clinical outcomes.

Keywords

Mindfulness, FFMQ, Self-report, Psychological assessment, Five Facets, Non-judging, Non-reactivity, Awareness, Observation, Description.

Authors

Ruth A. Baer, Gregory T. Smith, J. Hopkins, J. Krietemeyer, L. Toney.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) is to provide a standardized, empirically grounded measure of the multifaceted nature of mindfulness. By integrating the strengths of earlier, narrower scales, the FFMQ offers a unified framework for assessing an individual’s tendency to be mindful in daily life.

The scale is essential for both clinical psychology and research, enabling the measurement of change resulting from mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and facilitating the exploration of how different mindfulness components relate to various indicators of mental health, such as stress, depression, and anxiety.

Construct

The FFMQ measures the psychological construct of dispositional mindfulness, which is the non-judgmental attention to, and awareness of, present-moment thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and external phenomena. The instrument models this construct using five primary facets:

• Observing: Attending to internal and external sensations (e.g., sights, sounds, smells, body sensations, thoughts, feelings).
• Describing: Labeling internal experiences (feelings, beliefs, thoughts) with words.
• Acting with Awareness: Focusing attention on the current activity, rather than functioning on “automatic pilot.”
• Non-judging of Inner Experience: Taking a non-evaluative stance toward one’s thoughts and feelings.
• Non-reactivity to Inner Experience: Allowing thoughts and feelings to come and go without getting carried away or fixated by them.

Validity

The construct validity of the FFMQ is strong and well-documented. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) consistently supports the five-factor structure across diverse samples, including those with and without formal meditation experience (Baer et al., 2008). This robust structure confirms that the FFMQ measures the intended, distinct components of mindfulness.

Further validation studies have shown expected patterns of correlation with other psychological measures. Specifically, facets such as Non-judging and Acting with Awareness are reliably negatively correlated with measures of psychological distress (e.g., neuroticism and psychopathology), while the Observing facet sometimes shows complex or even positive correlations with distress in non-meditating populations, suggesting that merely noticing experiences without the skill of non-judging can sometimes be associated with discomfort.

Reliability

The psychometric properties of the FFMQ demonstrate good internal consistency reliability across the overall scale and its individual facets. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the subscales typically fall within the acceptable range of .75 to .91 in general population and student samples.

The 24-item Short Form (FFMQ-SF) has also shown adequate reliability, validating its use when time constraints require a briefer instrument. Studies, such as those involving depressed adults (Bohlmeijer et al., 2011), confirm that the FFMQ maintains reliable measurement across different clinical populations.

Factor Analysis

The FFMQ’s structure was established through an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of 106 items drawn from five existing mindfulness questionnaires: the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS), the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI), the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale (CAMS), and the Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS). This process resulted in the identification of 39 items loading onto the five distinct factors.

The five-factor model has demonstrated superior fit compared to both single-factor and four-factor alternatives in subsequent confirmatory factor analyses, solidifying its position as the leading multidimensional measure of dispositional mindfulness.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire, Psychological assessment

Format: 39 items (Full version) or 24 items (Short Form – FFMQ-SF). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English (Original), widely translated into numerous languages (e.g., Dutch, German, Spanish).

Population Group: General population, clinical samples, and individuals engaged in mindfulness practice.

Age Group: Adults and adolescents.

Population Details: Used to assess stable, dispositional tendencies toward mindfulness in diverse cultural and clinical settings.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate items based on how true they are for them on a scale of 1 to 5. Scoring involves summing item scores for each facet, with designated items being reverse coded (indicated by an asterisk [*] in the item list).

Keywords

Dispositional mindfulness, Self-awareness, Non-judging, Act with Awareness, Observe, Describe, Non-reactivity, Psychometrics, Clinical psychology.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The FFMQ was developed and published in 2006 (Baer et al.). It is frequently utilized in non-commercial academic research and clinical practice, generally available without an associated fee for these uses. Users should always consult the primary authors for specific permissions related to commercial applications or large-scale projects.

The original PDF of the instrument can be downloaded here: https://ogg.osu.edu/media/documents/MB%20Stream/FFMQ.pdf

Reference’s

• Baer, R. A, Smith, G. T., & Allen, K. B. (2004). Assessment of mindfulness by self-report: The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills. Assessment, 11, 191-206.
• Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13, 27–45.
• Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Lykins, E., Button, D., Krietemeyer, J., & Sauer, S. (2008). Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples. Assessment, 15(3), 329–342.
• Bohlmeijer, E., ten Klooster, P.M., Fledderus, M., Veehof, M., Krietemeyer, J., & Baer, R. A. (2011). Psychometric Properties of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Depressed Adults and Development of a Short Form. Assessment, 18(3), 308–320.
• Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006). Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. In: Simmons C. A., Lehmann P. (eds). Tools for strengths-based assessment and evaluation, New York, NY: Springer, pp. 152-154. (2013).

Items of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ)

Rating Scale: 1=Never or very rarely true, 2= Rarely true, 3=Sometimes true, 4= Often true, 5=Very often true

Facets and Items:

• Observe: (Items 1, 6, 11, 15, 20, 26, 31, and 36)
• Describe: (Items 2, 7, 12*, 16*, 22*, 27, 32, and 37)
• Act with Awareness: (Items 5*, 8*, 13*, 18*, 23*, 28*, 34*, and 38*)
• Nonjudge: (Items 3*, 10*, 14*, 17*, 25*, 30*, 35*, and 39*)
• Nonreact: (Items 4, 9, 19, 21, 24, 29, and 33)

(* indicates Reverse coded items)

1. When I’m walking, I deliberately notice the sensations of my body moving.
2. I’m good at finding words to describe my feelings.
3. I criticize myself for having irrational or inappropriate emotions.*
4. I perceive my feelings and emotions without having to react to them.
5. When I do things, my mind wanders off and I’m easily distracted.*
6. When I take a shower or bath, I stay alert to the sensations of water on my body.
7. I can easily put my beliefs, opinions, and expectations into words.
8. I don’t pay attention to what I’m doing because I’m daydreaming, worrying, or otherwise distracted.*
9. I watch my feelings without getting lost in them.
10. I tell myself I shouldn’t be feeling the way I’m feeling.*
11. I notice how foods and drinks affect my thoughts, bodily sensations, and emotions.
12. It’s hard for me to find the words to describe what I’m thinking.*
13. I am easily distracted.*
14. I believe some of my thoughts are abnormal or bad and I shouldn’t think that way.*
15. I pay attention to sensations, such as the wind in my hair or sun on my face.
16. I have trouble thinking of the right words to express how I feel about things.*
17. I make judgments about whether my thoughts are good or bad.*
18. I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the present.*
19. When I have distressing thoughts or images, I “step back” and am aware of the thought or image without getting taken over by it.
20. I pay attention to sounds, such as clocks ticking, birds chirping, or cars passing.
21. In difficult situations, I can pause without immediately reacting.
22. When I have a sensation in my body, it’s difficult for me to describe it because I can’t find the right words.*
23. It seems I am “running on automatic” without much awareness of what I’m doing.*
24. When I have distressing thoughts or images, I feel calm soon after.
25. I tell myself that I shouldn’t be thinking the way I’m thinking.*
26. I notice the smells and aromas of things.
27. Even when I’m feeling terribly upset, I can find a way to put it into words.
28. I rush through activities without being really attentive to them.*
29. When I have distressing thoughts or images I am able just to notice them without reacting.
30. I think some of my emotions are bad or inappropriate and I shouldn’t feel them.*
31. I notice visual elements in art or nature, such as colors, shapes, textures, or patterns of light and shadow.
32. My natural tendency is to put my experiences into words.
33. When I have distressing thoughts or images, I just notice them and let them go.
34. I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware of what I’m doing.*
35. When I have distressing thoughts or images, I judge myself as good or bad, depending what the thought/image is about.*
36. I pay attention to how my emotions affect my thoughts and behavior.
37. I can usually describe how I feel at the moment in considerable detail.
38. I find myself doing things without paying attention.*
39. I disapprove of myself when I have irrational ideas.*