Validation of a Chinese Short Version of the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS-17) Among People Recovering from Mental Illness

Objectives: The current study was conducted to translate and validate the short version of the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS-Short) for the Chinese mental health population to examine the association between mindfulness and personal recovery. 

Method: A sample of 434 community mental health service users completed the Chinese KIMS-Short and measures of self-compassion, psychological distress, and personal recovery. 

Results: Results from the first- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the five-factor structure proposed by previous research. Validity and internal consistency reliability of the 17-item Chinese KIMS-Short (KIMS-17) were evident. As measured by KIMS-17, mindfulness had moderate to strong correlations with self-compassion, stress, depression, anxiety, and personal recovery measures. Participants with experience in contemplation scored significantly higher overall and in all domains of mindfulness and personal recovery measures than those without experience. Additionally, participants who regularly engaged in contemplative practices scored significantly higher overall and in all domains of mindfulness and personal recovery measures, except for the describing mindfulness skill, compared to those who did not engage in practices. 

Conclusions: The KIMS-17 is an appropriate brief and multidimensional mindfulness measure for people with mental illness, regardless of their level of experience in contemplative practice. Engaging in contemplative practices, whether rarely or frequently, may contribute to improvement in mindfulness and facilitate personal recovery.