Elementary School Children, Mental Health Wellness 1, Mindfulness-based Intervention
Conditions
Brief summary
Background: Prevention programs for children such as mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are often implemented in schools to prevent psychological disorders from emerging and contribute to children' mental health. Aim: This study used a randomized cluster design and assessed the impact of a MBI on well-being and mental health of elementary school children's. Method: 13 elementary school classrooms were randomly allocated to the experimental condition (7 classrooms, n = 127 students) or the waitlist control condition (6 classrooms, n = 104 students). Participants in the experimental condition received a 10-week MBI.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMindfulness-based intervention
The MBI program implemented comprised ten weekly sessions. Please refer to the arm/group descriptions for further details.
Sponsors
Bishop's University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Randomized cluster trial with a wait-list control
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
8 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Attending the Préville Elementary School * Spoke sufficient French to fill out questionnaires
Exclusion criteria
* Not attending the Préville Elementary School * Level of French was not good enough to fill out questionnaires
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Symptoms of Mental Health Disorders | Baseline, post-intervention (10 weeks) | Children completed selected items from the self-report version of the anxiety (three items, e.g., I worry about little things), depression (five items, e.g., Nothing ever goes right for me) and inattention (4 items, e.g., I forget to do things) subscales of the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children (BASC II) |
| Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction | Baseline, post-intervention (10 weeks) | Participants rated how competent, autonomous, and related they felt in school, by answering a nine-item scale adapted from a scale used in a previous, similar study \[57\]. Children were asked to rate their agreement with items such as In school, I feel free to be myself (autonomy); I am able to reach my goals (competence) and In my relationship with others, I feel appreciated (relatedness) on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). |
| Process Measure | Baseline, post-intervention (10 weeks) | Finally, participants completed the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale for Children (e.g., I find it hard to stay focused on what's happening in the present moment.; \[58\]) to evaluate pre-to-post changes in their mindfulness abilities. They rated their agreement with each item on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 6 (almost always). A higher score on this scale indicates lower levels of mindfulness. |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed