Brief Description
The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) is the most commonly used tool used to measure mindfulness. Developed by Ruth Baer, PhD and colleagues (2006), the FFMQ assesses mindfulness through five elements:
Observing - noticing or attending to internal and external experiences, such as sensations, thoughts, and emotions.
Describing - labeling internal experiences with words.
Acting with awareness - attending to one’s activities in the moment and avoiding automatic pilot.
Non-judging of inner experience - taking a non-evaluative stance toward thoughts and feelings.
Non-reactivity to inner experience - allowing thoughts and feelings to come and go without getting caught up in them.
The FFMQ is based on factor analysis of various existing mindfulness questionnaires and is used in both clinical and research settings to assess the different components of mindfulness and their relationships to psychological functioning.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
39
Age Range for Administration
16+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
No recommended standard frequency; Blueprint recommends monthly.
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) consists of 39 items, each scored on a Likert scale ranging from 1 ("Never or very rarely true") to 5 ("Very often or always true"). Items 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 25, 28, 30, 34, 35, 38, and 39 are reverse scored. The measure includes five subscales corresponding to the five facets of mindfulness:
Subscale (i.e., facet) | Corresponding Items |
Observing | 1, 6, 11, 15, 20, 26, 31, 36 |
Describing | 2, 7, 12, 16, 22, 27, 32, 37 |
Acting with awareness | 5, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28, 34, 38 |
Non-judging of inner experience | 3, 10, 14, 17, 25, 30, 35, 39 |
Non-reactivity to inner experience | 4, 9, 19, 21, 24, 29, 33 |
Scores for each subscale are calculated by summing the responses for the corresponding items. The FFMQ total score is obtained by summing the scores of all five subscales (i.e., all items). There are no clinically significant cut off scores for this measure. Higher scores indicate higher levels of mindfulness.
Blueprint Adjustments
Some researchers find and use the average for each subscale and total FFMQ in their work, however, Blueprint calculates the score using the total sum as this is what Ruth Baer, PhD, the author of the measure, suggests.
Clinical Considerations
Estimated time of completion: 10-15 minutes.
Citation
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
We're here for you!
Do you have follow-up questions? We're here and happy to help!
Send us an email at help@blueprint-health.com or use the help messenger in the lower right corner to speak with our Support team. 💪🏼