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Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS)3

Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) Test

Understand your mindfulness strengths in about 8 minutes, including noticing, describing, staying present, and accepting without judgment. Get clear, targeted feedback from 39 items to guide growth, coaching, or clinical care.

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Questions: 398 minutes

08:30

September 1, 2026

September 1, 2026
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

29,096 views

3,272 completions

2,770 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

26/45

Accepting Without Judgment (AWJ)

Measures how well you can experience thoughts and emotions without judging them or trying to avoid or change them.

Low

Moderate

High

9 – 23: Low | 24 – 36: Moderate | 37 – 45: High

A score of 26 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a developing ability to accept inner experiences without strong self-criticism, with some judgment still occurring at times.

example score

31/50

Acting With Awareness (AWA)

Mindful Action measures how consistently you stay focused on what you are doing in the present moment rather than running on autopilot.

Low

Moderate

High

10 – 22: Low | 23 – 34: Moderate | 35 – 50: High

A score of 31 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting you often act with awareness but may still slip into autopilot in some routine or distracting situations.

example score

12/40

Describing (D)

Measures how well you can identify and put your internal experiences (thoughts, feelings, sensations) into words.

Low

Moderate

High

8 – 21: Low | 22 – 33: Moderate | 34 – 40: High

A score of 12 falls in the Low range, suggesting less consistent ability to label and describe internal experiences in words.

example score

46/60

Observing (O)

Observation measures how well you notice and attend to internal experiences (sensations, thoughts, emotions) and external stimuli in the present moment.

Lower observation

Moderate observation

Higher observation

12 – 29: Lower observation | 30 – 43: Moderate observation | 44 – 60: Higher observation

A score of 46 falls in the Higher observation range, suggesting you tend to notice sensations, emotions, and environmental details relatively clearly and often.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Therapy and coaching clients

41%OF USERS

People in counseling or coaching use it to pinpoint which mindfulness skills are strong and which need practice for stress, mood, or emotion regulation.

Mindfulness and meditation learners

34%OF USERS

People building a mindfulness habit take it to get clear feedback on observing, describing, staying present, and self-acceptance.

Psychology students and researchers

25%OF USERS

Students and researchers use it to measure mindfulness components in studies, class projects, or clinical assessments.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Acceptance Without Judgment (AWJ)

Average

35.3

Normal range

30.8 — 39.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Mindful Action (MA)

Average

26.9

Normal range

19.8 — 34

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Description (D)

Average

25.1

Normal range

19.1 — 31.2

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Observation (O)

Average

45.2

Normal range

39 — 51.3

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Never or very rarely
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very often or always
- Never or very rarely
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very often or always
- Never or very rarely
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very often or always

These are 3 of the 39 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) Test - Symptoms and Signs

cbt

awareness

The measure is designed to assess mindfulness-related skills in everyday functioning. The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) is a self-report questionnaire that provides a structured profile across multiple facets of mindfulness.

It includes 39 items and typically requires about 8 minutes to complete. Items query the frequency of experiences and behaviors consistent with observing internal and external experiences, describing subjective states, acting with awareness, and adopting a nonjudgmental stance toward thoughts and emotions.

Scores from the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) may be used in clinical or research settings to characterize relative strengths and areas for intervention planning, to monitor change over time, or to support case formulation in mindfulness-informed treatments.

Literature: Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., & Allen, K. B. Assessment of mindfulness by self-report: The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills. Assessment. 2004.