Cross-cultural adaptation and validity evidence of the Brazilian version of the State Mindfulness Scale for Physical Activity (SMS-PA)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to perform a cross-cultural adaptation to the Brazilian Portuguese language and to estimate validity evidence of the State Mindfulness Scale for Physical Activity (SMS-PA) in the Brazilian context. The sample consisted of 288 subjects participating in physical and sports activities (mean age: 21.1±4.8; 56.6% women). Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyzes were conducted to assess the internal structure and the invariance of the factorial model between men and women. Cronbach’s alpha was employed to assess internal consistency, and the Pearson correlation to assess the pattern of correlation between the SMS-PA and the intrinsic motivation/amotivation measures, and between the SMS-PA and the Reason for Exercise scale. The results showed adequacy of the bi-factor structure with two specific factors (mental and body mindfulness), and one general factor (state mindfulness for physical activity), as per the theoretical hypothesis (WLSMV χ2= 95.951; df= 33; χ2/df= 2.91; CFI= .997; TLI= .962; RMSEA= .072 CI-90% .053-.091); desirable internal consistency indices for all factors (.882 ≤ α ≤ .887), and invariance of the SMS-PA’s internal structure to assess men and women. Moreover, positive correlation of the SMS-PA was observed with intrinsic motivation and internal reasons for exercise, with negative correlations for amotivation, as per the theoretical hypothesis. It can be concluded from this study that the Brazilian version of the SMS-PA is a suitable measurement tool for assessing state mindfulness in Brazilians who practice physical activities and sports.