VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE MALAY VERSION OF THE FIVE FACET MINDFULNESS QUESTIONNAIRE (FFMQ) AMONG MALAYSIAN HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37268/mjphm/vol.25/no.3/art.3292Keywords:
FFMQ-M, Malay adaptation, Mindfulness, Healthcare personnel, five-factor modelAbstract
In recent years, mindfulness has gained significant attention in the scientific and medical communities for its profound impact on mental and physical health. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) has been translated into multiple languages; however, there is currently limited availability of this tool in Malay. This study aimed to determine the factor structure of the FFMQ-Malay among healthcare personnel (HCP). The tool was evaluated using a sample of 528 healthcare professionals to analyse its construct validity and reliability. Face validity was satisfactory, with I-FVI ranging from 0.80–1.00, S-FVI/Ave: 0.96, and S-FVI/UA: 0.95. Content validity demonstrated strong agreement, with I-CVI values between 0.88–1.00, S-CVI/Ave: 0.97, and S-CVI/UA: 0.97, confirming the instrument's reliability. Each subscale showed internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) between 0.76 and 0.96, while the test-retest results showed intraclass correlations (ICC) above 0.75, indicating reliability. The analysis of the FFMQ-M components resulted in good factor loading (>0.5) in all items. The fit indices indicate an acceptable fit to the data (ChiSq/df=1.79), with a Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI) of 0.95, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) of 0.97, and Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) of 0.96, both of which exceeding the threshold of 0.90. The Root Mean Square Error of Approximation(RMSEA) value of 0.04 is below the recommended maximum of 0.08, confirming the overall suitability of the model. After item refinement, the psychometric performance further improved. All constructs demonstrated good internal consistency, with Composite Reliability (CR) values ranging from 0.76 to 0.85, exceeding the threshold of 0.60. The convergent validity was confirmed with Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values ranging from 0.52 to 0.59, thereby meeting the minimum criterion of 0.50. The validated FFMQ-M offers a culturally adapted and psychometrically sound tool for assessing mindfulness, with practical applications in workplace interventions, mental health training, and resilience-building programmes tailored to Malaysian healthcare settings.
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