Equanimity Scale Development PDF

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Equanimity scale development - Part A (introduction only)...

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Assessment 1C: Scale Development – Measuring Equanimity

Swinburne Online

Subject:

PSY30003 Psychology Project

Due Date:

14th August 2020

Tutor:

James Williams

Word Count:

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Introduction

The literature surrounding the Buddhist teaching have emphasised that the mind has the potential to transcend to a higher form of well-being. The transformation of the mind can be linked to the contemplative practices such as “mindfulness” which sits at the heart of Buddhist tradition. From the western perspective, mindfulness is a complex concept and consensus of its definition typically encompasses the qualities of attention and awareness, paying attention to the present moment without judgement” (Kabat-Zin, 1990). Whereas equanimity as defined by Desbordes et al., (2015) is an “even-minded” mental state, promoting neutrality and equality towards all beings, regardless of what it is experienced, pleasant or unpleasant.

Equanimity forms part of a bigger psychological process in Buddhist philosophy. It can be described as the pinnacle of The Four Immeasurable; loving, kindness, compassion and equanimity. To attain enlightenment, each of the qualities are developed, cultivated and strengthened through a deeper meditation practice, that goes beyond mindfulness (Kraus & Sears, 2009; Zopa, 2013). These qualities are fundamental teachings of Buddhist philosophies in both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. To foster these qualities, involves acceptance, creating love, kindness, compassion and equanimity to an immeasurable extent and outspread them to an immeasurable extent, starting from within oneself, to others and all sentient beings (Hadash et al., 2016). The development of such qualities lead to balancing out the emotions from happiness to despair and towards all things (Carmody, Baer, Lykins & Olendzki, 2009). Thus, equanimity can be envisaged as being in the middle of everything, equal and balanced, calm yet detached from whatever is happening, freeing oneself from emotional disturbances.

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The notion of equanimity in the context of non-attachment does not mean indifference or ignorance but rather it refers to the notion of neutral reaction, facilitating a nonjudgemental and unbiased attitude towards things whilst still maintaining altruistic qualities (Bodhi, 2000; Nanomoli 1991, p.314). The concept of non-attachment and equanimity are comparable, thereby based on these grounds; it was hypothesised that the exploratory factor analysis with the current scale of equanimity (EQS) would correspond to the non-attachment scale-short form. Much like equanimity, individual who develops non-attachment maintains a balanced composure without reacting and clinging to subjective biases, habits and objects (Sahdra, Shaver, & Brown, 2010). The disposal of pre-conceived notion would allow one to experience reality as is with open mind and sincere heart free from excessive attachments which can be destructive and can result in suffering

The profound truth of suffering can be further understood through impermanence. This existential problem is inescapable, human existence is impermeant, nothing lasts, change is continual, therefore, nothing can be grasped or held onto (Bodhi, 2011; Chambers, Gullone, & Allen, 2009). These attitudes provide guidance towards equanimity which may lead in liberating oneself from suffering of social existence. The rise of equanimity in oneself indicates that the inner wellbeing is at peace and independent under provoking and stressful circumstances. Psychological significance of equanimity promotes emotional regulation where automatic processes can be reduced through deliberate attentional awareness and focus on the present moment (Sedikides et al., 2016). Through mindful awareness, equanimity can fortify other qualities, fostering patience and understanding where one is less quick to react to unpleasant emotions, thus the response is likely to arise from wisdom and compassion.

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Equanimity endows compassion, which is one of the key elements in the mental wellbeing. Its usefulness has been widely promoted in the western healthcare organisation and is linked to prosocial behaviour with intention of alleviating suffering such as the role of nursing (Department of Health 2012; Bierhoff, 2002). Scholars postulate that compassion can be achieved through moment to moment of attention with mindset of acceptance and non-judgment (Shapiro, De Sousa, & Jazaieri, 2016). In a study based on compassion, participants demonstrated increasing discomfort when exposed to others’ suffering and pleasant reaction towards neutral stimuli (Condon & Barret, 2013). It was suggested that acquiring a high level of compassion is said to derive from an individual who practice equanimity Equanimity is cultivated through the practice of mindfulness meditation, thereby when Buddhism is considered, mindfulness must also be considered. Mindfulness has shown positive benefits such as better emotional regulations, stress reduction, improved attention, enhanced immune function and pain management (Desbordes et al., 2015; Baer, 2003). As such, discriminatory validity was drawn from this view. It was hypothesised that individuals that score high on equanimity scale would have no significant correlation with stress scale. This suggest that the individual under an equanimous state, produces a balanced state of mind, which is quiet and steady, and is thereby less prone to stress. Additionally, it was hypothesised that individuals who scored high on EQS would correlate negatively with neuroticism subscale of the big five inventory. Perhaps, in the absence of equanimity, one is more likely to develop negative attitude. Zuckerman, (2003) postulated that pessimist qualities have been associated with neuroticism. Individuals with neuroticism personality are low on positive coping strategy - an indication of emotional instability such as moodiness, depression, temper.

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Western studies have widely documented and conceptualised mindfulness. It is a multi-faceted concept and often overlaps with equanimity due to its shared definitions and attributes, including notions of attention, non-judgment, acceptance and compassion. As such, numerous researchers conducted studies to measure equanimity to develop helpful mechanism in stress management and other outcomes. However, existing inconsistencies in literature are largely due to the researcher’s personal interest and terminologies are often lost in context due to disagreement on definitions amongst the scholars (Desbordes et al., 2015). Finally, existing research predominately reflects the contemporary mindfulness practice which often does not emphasise on the importance of equanimity.

This paper intends to align with the work of Desbordes et al., (2015) by seeking to provide a valid quantitative scale to measure equanimity. Few scales from previous studies are discussed. The first, is the Nonattachment scale (NAS), developed by Chio, Lai and Mak (2018). According to Desbordes et al., (2015) this study is closely related to concept of equanimity. The items that highly resemble the Buddhist definition of equanimity e.g., ”I can remain open to what life offers me regardless of whether it seems desirable or undesirable at a particular time.”, “I can accept the flow of events in my life without hanging onto them or pushing them away,”. The short version of scale was found to be reliable and a valid measure for rapid assessment. The item response theory (IRT) was employed to ensure strong reliability. Overall, the study produced satisfactory psychometric properties and validity. Although the short version was strongly correlated with the full scale, notwithstanding, it would have been useful to independently administer both scales to examine relationship between the two scales and constructs being measured for stronger internal validity. Additionally, the study demonstrated weak external validity, the sample was limited to students from Hong Kong and thus was unable to accurately represent the general population.

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The second measure captured the notion of The Four Immeasurable. A self-reported questionnaire developed by Kraus and Sears (2009) to measure a single construct of “acceptance” with various subscale. The main focus of the study was to identify positive and negative psychological outcomes. Under equanimity subset, participants were requested to rate their level of acceptance or apathy as to what they felt, thought or acted upon towards self and others. The study demonstrated strong reliability due to pre and post-dismantling design. Given the outcome measures are dependent on the self-report as a result, internal consistency was weak in the COPE subscale. Further, external reliability was somewhat strong due to having the same mediation instructor that was delivering all the interventions. However, the group sample were not randomly selected, and intervention timing was inconsistent during the research period. Finally, according to Junea et al., (2020) the construct of acceptance is indifferent to equanimity. This implies the possibility of “acceptance” construct may have led to convergence with “equanimity” resulting in low construct validity.

Finally, the concept of decentring is pertinent to equanimity. Teasdale, Segal and Williams (2007) developed an experience questionnaire to assess decentring and rumination. This scale aimed to assess protective or resilience factors. Overall, the study demonstrated construct validity and psychometric properties. The decentring factor produced reasonably good internal consistency. External validity was also found to be strong, as the study achieved generalisability across gender, race, and ethnicity. The decentring scale was negatively related to depressions and anxiety. Finally, this scale produced concurrent validity, and the association between the questionnaire and relapse of major depression was not evaluated. Considering these outcomes, and to ensure convergence validity of the

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proposed scale, it was predicted that high scores on the EQS would correlate significantly with high scores on the construct of decentring from the Experiences Questionnaire Scale (EQ). Lastly, it is was predicted that individuals who would score high on EQS would correlate significantly with high scores on the mindful attention awareness scale (MAAS). Like equanimity and mindfulness, an individual with decentring qualities would possess an ability to shift perspective such as thoughts and feelings from subjective self towards more objective experiences.

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References

Baer, R. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Scienceand Practice, 10(2), 125-143. DOI: 10.1093/clipsy.bpg015 Bierhoff, H. W. (2002). Prosocial behaviour social psychology: Amodular course. Psychology Press. Bodhi, B. (2011). What does mindfulness really mean? A canonical perspective. Contemporary Buddhism, 12(1), 19–39. DOI: 10.1080/14639947.2011.564813 Bodhi, B. (2000). A comprehensive manual of Abhidhamma: the philosophical psychology of Buddhism. Onalaska: Buddhist Publication Society Pariyatti Editions. Carmody, J., Baer, R. A., Lykins, E. L., & Olendzki, N. (2009). An empirical study of the mechanisms of mindfulness in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65(6), 613–626. DOI: 10.1002/jclp.20579 Chambers, R., Gullone, E., & Allen, N. B. (2009). Mindful emotion regulation: an integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 29, 560–572. DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2009.06.005 Chio, F.H.N., Lai, M.H.C., & Mak, W.W.S. (2018). Development of the Nonattachment Scale-Short Form (NAS-SF) Using Item Response Theory. Mindfulness 9(4), 1299– 1308. DOI: 10.1007/s12671-017-0874-z Department of Health (2012.) NHS Constitution for England [online] available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the- nhs-constitution-for-england, Desbordes, G., Gard, T., Hoge, EA., Hölzel, BK., Kerr, C., Lazar, SW., Olendzki. A., & Vago DR., (2015). Moving beyond mindfulness: defining equanimity as an outcome

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measure in mediation and contemplative research. Mindfulness 6(2), 356-372. DOI: 10.1007/s12671-013-0269-8 Fresco, D. M., Moore, M. T., van Dulmen, M. H. M., Segal, Z. V., Ma, S. H., Teasdale, J. D., et al. (2007). Initial psychometric properties of the experiences questionnaire: validation of a self-report measure of decentering. Behavior Therapy, 38(3), 234–246. DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2006.08.003 Hadash, Y., Segev, N., Tanay, G., Goldstein, P., & Bernstein, A, 2016. The decoupling model of equanimity: theory, measurement, and test in a mindfulness intervention. Mindfulness 7(5), 1214-1226. DOI: 10.1007/s12671-016-0564-2 Juneau, C., Pellerin. N., Trives, E., Ricard, M., Shankland, R., & Dambrun, M. (2020). Reliability and validity of an equanimity questionnaire: the two-factor equanimity scale (EQUA-S). 8. p.e9405. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9405 Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. New York: Delacorte Press. Kraus, S., & Sears, S. (2009). Measuring the immeasurables: development and initial validation of the self-other four immeasurables (SOFI) scale based on Buddhist teachings on loving, kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. Social Indicators Research 92(1),169-181. DOI: 10.1007/s11205-008-9300-1 Nanamoli, B. (1991). The path of purification. Onalaska: Buddhist Publication Society Pariyatti Editions. Sahdra, B. K., Shaver, P. R., & Brown, K. W. (2010). A scale to measure nonattachment: a Buddhist complement to Western research on attachment and adaptive functioning. Journal of Personality Assessment, 92(2), 116–127. DOI: 10.1080/00223890903425960

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Sedikides, C., Wildschut, T., Cheung, W. Y., Routledge, C., Hepper, E. G., Arndt, J., Vail, K., Zhou, X., Brackstone, K., & Vingerhoets, A. J. (2016). Nostalgia fosters selfcontinuity: Uncovering the mechanism (social connectedness) and consequence (eudaimonic well-being). Emotion. 16(4), 524–539. DOI: 10.1037/emo0000136 Zopa, L. (2013). Transforming problems into happiness. Somerville:Wisdom Publications. Zuckerman, M. (2003). Optimism and pessimism: Biological foundations. E.C. Chang, L.J. Sanna (Eds.), Virtue, vice, and personality: The complexity of behavior, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. 169-188. https://doi.org/10.1037/10385-008

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