Journal
JOURNAL OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 52, Issue 3, Pages 263-278Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsp.2014.03.002
Keywords
Children; Pre-adolescent; Mindfulness meditation; Contemplative education; School; Social and emotional learning
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The current study is a pilot trial to examine the effects of a nonelective, classroom-based, teacher-implemented, mindfulness meditation intervention on standard clinical measures of mental health and affect in middle school children. A total of 101 healthy sixth-grade students (55 boys, 46 girls) were randomized to either an Asian history course with daily mindfulness meditation practice (intervention group) or an African history course with a matched experiential activity (active control group). Self-reported measures included the Youth Self Report (YSR), a modified Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Measure Revised. Both groups decreased significantly on clinical syndrome subscales and affect but did not differ in the extent of their improvements. Meditators were significantly less likely to develop suicidal ideation or thoughts of self-harm than controls. These results suggest that mindfulness training may yield both unique and non-specific benefits that are shared by other novel activities. (C) 2014 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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