Mindfulness and psychopathology: Adaptation of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in a Spanish sample

Abstract

This study is an adaptation in a Spanish sample of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) (Brown & Ryan, 2003). The study was conducted with a clinical sample of patients with anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and borderline personality disorder (N = 100), a sample of the general population (N = 100), and a sample of university students (N = 54). The criterion validity was verified using correlations with CBAS, BDI-II, BAI, and AAQ-II. The results indicate a high degree of internal consistency (α = .88), equivalent to those obtained in studies conducted in other countries with samples consisting primarily of students. Significant statistical differences were found between the scores of the sample groups. The general population sample demonstrated a higher degree of mindfulness as measured by the MAAS than the student sample, which in turn demonstrated a higher degree of mindfulness than the clinical sample.