1. Spanish and cross-cultural validation of the mind excessively wandering scale
- Author
-
Alfonso Morillas-Romero, Alejandro De la Torre-Luque, Florence D. Mowlem, and Philip Asherson
- Subjects
mind wandering ,task-unrelated thoughts ,MEWS ,attention ,daydreaming ,Psychology ,BF1-990 - Abstract
IntroductionOver the last decade, excessive spontaneous mind wandering (MW) has been consistently associated with emotional disorders. The main aims of the present study were (1) to re-examine the factor structure of the Mind Excessively Wandering Scale (MEWS); (2) to validate the Spanish version of the MEWS; and (3) to conduct a cross-cultural validation of the MEWS in Spanish and UK samples.MethodsA forward/backward translation to Spanish was conducted. Data of 391 Spanish and 713 British non-clinical individuals were analysed.ResultsA revised 10-item version of the MEWS (MEWS-v2.0) demonstrated to be a valid instrument to assess MW. A 2-correlated factor structure properly captured the MEWS-v2.0 variance, accounting for two specific but interrelated dimensions (Uncontrolled thoughts and Mental Overactivity).DiscussionThe Spanish MEWS-v2.0 showed adequate internal consistency and construct validity, as well as appropriate convergent/divergent validity. Cross-cultural analyses showed that MEWS-v2.0 captured the same construct in both UK and Spanish samples. In conclusion, both Spanish and English MEWS-v2.0 demonstrated to be reliable measures to capture spontaneous MW phenomenon in non-clinical adult populations.
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF