The Disciplined Mind: Associations Between the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills and Attention Control

In an attempt to replicate and clarify previous research, we examined the associations between the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) and measures of sustained (Continuous Performance Test; CPT) and executive (Stroop) attention in a community sample of adults (n = 106). After controlling for age, gender, education, socio-economic status, IQ, and depression and anxiety, analyses indicated that the KIMS-Observe scale predicted enhanced Stroop performance and reduced variability in attentional processing on the CPT. Post hoc analyses also provided evidence that the associative strength between KIMS-Observe and reduced CPT reaction time variability increased as a function of task block, suggestive of a protective effect against attentional lapses due to prolonged exposure to the CPT. While the present study failed to replicate previously reported associations between KIMS and attentional functioning, the consistency of current findings to conceptualizations of mindfulness suggests that KIMS-Observe taps important attentional processes thought to underlie mindfulness.