Traço de atenção plena e características associadas em crianças e adolescentes: adaptação transcultural e indícios de validade do inventário de mindfulness para crianças e adolescentes

Abstract

The concept of mindfulness, with roots in Eastern contemplative practices, has established itself as an essential construct in Western psychology due to its proven benefits for mental health, particularly in emotional regulation and executive functions. However, in Brazil, research on this construct in children and adolescents, as well as validated psychometric instruments, is still scarce. Given this gap, this study aimed to conduct the cross-cultural adaptation and gather validity evidence for the Mindfulness Inventory for Children and Adolescents (MICA) for the Brazilian population aged 8 to 18 years. The adaptation process followed the guidelines of the ITC Guidelines for Translating and Adapting Tests (version 2.4), including translation, backtranslation, semantic analysis, and psychometric validation. For the translation and backtranslation analysis, a committee of six experts was formed, while the preliminary validation included 231 children and adolescents from public and private schools in Juiz de Fora - MG. In addition to MICA, instruments such as the Perceived Stress Scale for Children (PSS-C), Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC), and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to assess the convergent and discriminant validity of the mindfulness trait. The data were analyzed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as an assessment of the instrument’s internal consistency. Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity was obtained through the analysis of correlations between the instrument under study and scales assessing theoretically and empirically related and unrelated constructs. Results indicate that the MICA-PTBR requires a review of some factorial items but has good indications of structural, convergent, and divergent validity, with high acceptance by participants in the semantic analysis. The study contributes to psychology in Brazil by offering a new psychometric tool for research and clinical or educational interventions among children and adolescentes.