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Effectiveness and mechanisms of change of a mindfulness-based intervention on elementary school children: A cluster-randomized control trial.

Journal of school psychology
August 1, 2023
Carlos García-Rubio et al. (5 authors)
Randomized Controlled TrialJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based mindfulness intervention (GrowingUp Breathing program) on children's socio-emotional and academic development.

Results Summary

The study found that children who received the mindfulness intervention showed improvements in mindfulness skills, emotion regulation, prosociality, student engagement, and reductions in anxiety and peer-relationship problems. Positive changes in dispositional mindfulness and emotional regulation mediated these improvements.

Population

Elementary students aged 7-12 from two schools in Madrid, Spain.

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

Not specified (pre- and post-intervention measures, with a 3-month follow-up for the MBI group)

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (13)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the school context (GrowingUp Breathing program)
increase
mindfulness skills
children (elementary students from 7 to 12 years old)
-
improved
#1
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the school context (GrowingUp Breathing program)
increase
emotion regulation
children (elementary students from 7 to 12 years old)
-
improved
#2
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the school context (GrowingUp Breathing program)
increase
prosociality
children (elementary students from 7 to 12 years old)
-
improved
#3
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the school context (GrowingUp Breathing program)
increase
emotional and behavioral engagement
children (elementary students from 7 to 12 years old)
-
improved
#4
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the school context (GrowingUp Breathing program)
decrease
anxiety
children (elementary students from 7 to 12 years old)
-
decreased
#5
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the school context (GrowingUp Breathing program)
decrease
peer-relationship problems
children (elementary students from 7 to 12 years old)
-
decreased
#6
Positive changes in dispositional mindfulness
decrease
children's anxiety
children
-
led to reductions
#7
Positive changes in dispositional mindfulness
decrease
psychological inflexibility
children
-
led to reductions
#8
Positive changes in emotional regulation
increase
prosociality
children
-
led to improvements
#9
Positive changes in emotional regulation
increase
student engagement
children
-
led to improvements
#10
Positive changes in emotional regulation
decrease
peer-relationships problems
children
-
decreased
#11
Positive changes in emotional regulation
decrease
emotional symptoms
children
-
decreased
#12
a brief-MBI integrated in the Spanish regular school curriculum
increase
children's socio-emotional and academic development
children
-
enhanced
#13
Abstract

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the school context are increasingly widespread worldwide. The present study evaluates the effectiveness of a school-MBI (GrowingUp Breathing program) on children's socio-emotional and academic development. Three hundred thirteen elementary students from 7 to 12 years old from two schools in Madrid (Spain) participated. A cluster-randomized control trial was designed, assigning eight classrooms to the MBI-group (N = 155) and eight classrooms to the waiting-list control group (N = 158). Measures were evaluated at pre- and post-intervention in both groups and a 3-month follow-up was collected in the MBI-group. Children self-reported their mindfulness skills (i.e., dispositional mindfulness and psychological inflexibility) and well-being (i.e., anxiety and life satisfaction) and teachers evaluated children's social-emotional competence (i.e., emotion regulation, peer-relationship problems, and prosociality), well-being (i.e., emotional symptoms), and academic competence (i.e., student engagement and academic achievement). Mindfulness skills and emotional regulation were examined as potential mediators. Results revealed that children who received the MBI, compared to children in the WLC-group, improved their mindfulness skills, emotion regulation, prosociality, and emotional and behavioral engagement and decreased anxiety and peer-relationship problems. Positive changes in dispositional mindfulness led to reductions in children's anxiety and psychological inflexibility. Positive changes in emotional regulation led to improvements in prosociality and student engagement and decreased peer-relationships problems and emotional symptoms. Therefore, the results showed that a brief-MBI integrated in the Spanish regular school curriculum enhanced children's socio-emotional and academic development. Dispositional mindfulness and emotion regulation work as processes of change that underlie the intervention's impact.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
HumansChildMindfulnessEmotionsSchoolsAnxietySocial Skills
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy85/10
Quality90/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations4
Citations/Year2.0
Relative Citation Ratio1.74
NIH Percentile70.1%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.50
Weight Score2.84
Normalized Score0.72
Related Supplements
Effectiveness and mechanisms of change of a mindfulness-base... | Panacea Index