Validation of the Dutch Comprehensive Inventory of Mindfulness Experiences (CHIME) and Development of a Short Form (CHIME-SF)

Objectives In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the assessment of mindfulness skills. The present study describes the validation of the Dutch Comprehensive Inventory of Mindfulness Experiences (CHIME) and the development of a short form. Methods The original scale was translated into Dutch. The psychometric properties of the CHIME were examined, including its factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent and discriminant validity in a group of 481 participants consisting of clinical and non-clinical samples. In addition, a 24-item short form (CHIME-SF) was developed and its psychometric properties were assessed in the same sample. Results Confirmatory factor analyses showed an acceptable model fit of an 8-factor structure of the CHIME with the following subscales: awareness of internal experiences, awareness of external experiences, acting with awareness, accepting and non-judgmental attitude, nonreactive decentering, openness to experiences, awareness of thought’s relativity, and insightful understanding ( χ 2 = 1534.90, df = 601, χ 2 / df = 2.55, CFI = 0.90, RMSEA = 0.057 [90% CI 0.053, 0.060], SRMR = 0.06). The CHIME-SF showed a good model fit ( χ 2 = 486.13, df = 224, χ 2 /df = 0.17, CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.049 [90% CI 0.043, 0.055], SRMR = 0.05.) and the subscales of the CHIME and CHIME-SF showed high corrected correlations ( r c = .69–.88). The CHIME and the CHIME-SF proved to be sensitive to change. Conclusions The results indicate that the Dutch version of the CHIME and CHIME-SF are valid instruments to assess mindfulness skills in clinical and non-clinical populations. The psychometric properties of the CHIME-SF should be further evaluated in an independent sample.