Equanimity and the Attenuation of Psychological Distress

The thesis describes the construction and initial validation of a scale assessing equanimity, the Phenomenology of Meditative Equanimity Measure. In order to develop the measure, in-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted with experienced meditators regarding their experience of equanimity, with an IPA across the transcripts forming the foundation of items. An EFA determined that the experience of equanimity comprised two factors, Centring and Resonating, which was confirmed in a Multi-Group CFA paradigm conceptualising equanimity as a nested-factor model. Strong validity for the scale was further demonstrated through Measurement Invariance as well as criterion and construct validity.