Support for the Development and Use of the Child Observation of Mindfulness Measure (C-OMM)

We describe the Child Observation of Mindfulness Measure (C-OMM), a new instrument designed to assess young children’s outward expressions of self-regulated attention and orientation to experience.

Twenty-three 3- to 4-year-old children were assessed using the C-OMM. Using Generalizability theory, differentiated variances were examined across three settings (free play, teacher-directed activities, and meals), five dimensions (three for self-regulated attention and two for orientation to experience), and two components (summary scores for self-regulated attention and orientation to experience). A follow-up decision study was conducted to identify the number of raters needed and the number of observations per child required to achieve acceptable reliability.

The C-OMM represents a more appropriate instrument for trained observers to assess children’s mindfulness related behaviors in certain educational settings given the limitations inherent to young children’s capacity to accurately self-report. Furthermore, as an observational measure of children’s mindfulness behaviors, the C-OMM might be more sensitive to multiple observations that therefore lends to the measurement of ongoing development over time.