UC Santa Barbara

Research has emerged supporting the use of Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBIs) to treat a spectrum of medical and psychological ailments, including pain, addiction, and anxiety. Beyond the treatment of specific conditions, neuropsychological studies have also shown MBIs to positively impact individuals’ executive, attentional, and memory functioning. A recent meta-analysis identified that the majority of research conducted on the use of formalized MBIs has used adult samples (Renshaw & O’Malley, 2014). Consequently, there is currently a dearth of literature pertaining the use of MBIs with youth. The present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of a school-based mindfulness program for elementary aged children (N = 138). Teacher reported data on student levels of attention, hyperactivity, and prosocial behavior were collected at three time points throughout the school year (Fall, Winter, and Spring). A repeated measures mixed between-within Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine main effects on each dependent variable, as well as, interaction effects and main effects on each of four grouping variables (age, sex, parent-education, and fidelity). Significant main effects were detected over the course of the intervention on the variables of attention, hyperactivity, and prosocial behavior. Further analysis of grouping variables found significant differences between boys and girls on all three dependent variables. Significant differences were also found between levels of parent education on the variables of attention and prosocial behavior. These findings support trends observed in the growing literature on MBIs and youth. Implications for the feasibility of implementing MBIs in a classroom setting are also discussed.