Trait Mindfulness Facets, Anxiety, and Cognitive Performance in a Diverse Young Adult Sample

<p>Objectives: Anxiety and trait mindfulness are theorized to affect cognitive performance through shared attentional mechanisms, but facet-level evidence in diverse samples is limited. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a brief, virtually administered cognitive battery in a diverse, young adult sample and examined whether trait mindfulness and anxiety predict performance on the cognitive factor individually, jointly, and at the facet level.Methods: Participants (N = 127) were self-identified racial and ethnic minority university students who completed five verbal cognitive tasks, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and the GAD-7. Confirmatory factor analysis established a single-factor measurement model. Six models (three confirmatory, three exploratory) tested total and facet-level scores as single (structural regression) and joint (MIMIC) predictors.Results: All five tasks loaded significantly onto a single latent factor with excellent model fit, χ²(5) = 4.96, p = .420, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA = .00. GAD-7 (β = -0.27, p = .012, R² = .075) and FFMQ total scores (β = 0.23, p = .032, R² = .052) each significantly predicted the cognitive factor when modeled alone, but not when modeled jointly. Acting with Awareness was the only significant facet-level predictor (β = 0.47, p = .001, R² = .219) and retained significance when modeled alongside GAD-7.Conclusions: These findings offer preliminary psychometric support for the battery in an underrepresented population and indicate Acting with Awareness explains variance in cognitive performance beyond total trait mindfulness or anxiety symptom severity. Thus, awareness practices may be an efficient intervention alternative for this population.</p>