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The current study examined the relation of a commonly used measure of mindfulness (MindfulAttention Awareness Scale [MAAS]) and psychological flexibility (Acceptance and Action
Questionnaire [AAQ]) to mental health-related variables within an African American college sample. The study also examined these constructs as potential mediators of the link between selfconcealment and mental health variables. The AAQ did not show adequate internal consistency, and
thus was not used in subsequent analyses. Mindfulness was found to be a significant predictor of
mental health-related variables and mediated the relation between self-concealment and emotional
distress in stressful interpersonal situations (full mediation) and general psychological ill health (partial mediation). These results are suggestive that mindfulness may be useful to understand mental
health within African Americans college students, although additional research is clearly needed
Validation of self-report mindfulness measures has been promising, although comparisons with non-self-report instruments are lacking. Because past research suggests that mindfulness training is associated with improved attention, this study predicted that higher self-report mindfulness would be positively related to performance on tasks of sustained attention. Fifty undergraduates completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS), the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale, Revised (CAMS-R), and performed the Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II) and the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). Mindfulness scores, as measured by the MAAS and CAMS-R, were negatively related to target omissions on the CPT-II (ps ≤ 0.001), but were not related to PASAT performance (ps ≥ 0.11). Scores on the KIMS were not related to the CPT-II or PASAT (ps ≥ 0.15). Results suggest that self-report mindfulness is related to exaggerated lapses of attention, as measured by the CPT-II.