Mindfulness interventions have increasingly been incorporated in elementary and high school classrooms to support students' mental health and well-being; however, there is little research examining the specific factors contributing to the effectiveness of the interventions. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the specific effects of and moderators contributing to school-based mindfulness interventions for mental health in youth. A systematic review of studies published in PsycINFO, ERIC, Social Work Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, and CINAHL was conducted. A total of 24 studies (n = 3977) were included in the meta-analysis.Overall, mindfulness interventions were found to be helpful, with small to moderate significant

To evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based structured versus unstructured coloring on test anxiety, 52 participants (53.8% female; Mage = 10.92 years, SD =.82) were randomly assigned to either a structured mandala (n = 26) or free coloring condition (n = 26), and completed a standardized anxiety measure to assess anxiety before and after coloring, immediately before a spelling test. Results revealed an overall decrease in anxiety for both groups. However, a significant gender by group interaction demonstrated that while both genders experienced anxiety reduction in the mandala condition, males reported a greater anxiety reduction in the free coloring condition while females only benefited from the mandala condition. Possible explanations for these gender effects are explored and future directions discussed.Experiences of test anxiety affect approximately one third of elementary school students . Test anxiety represents a combination of state anxiety, the perceived threat before the test, and trait anxiety; the constant, general worry of performance evaluation . In addition to low self-esteem, lower grades, and depressive symptoms, test anxiety is also associated with other types of anxiety disorders (Beidel & Turner, 1988;Ogundokun, 2011). If left untreated, children who suffer from test anxiety may experience future challenges impacting their academic performance (Beidel & Turner, 1988;Bodas & Ollendick, 2005;McDonald, 2001; Wren & Benson, 2004). Yet, despite the high prevalence of test anxiety in elementary school students and the serious implications of the condition, research on effective test anxiety interventions at the elementary school level is largely lacking.

Mindfulness is often part of treatment for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI); however, there has been limited research examining the role of mindfulness in NSSI. Thus, the current study sought to investigate the relationship among mindfulness, depressive symptoms, and NSSI (past year) in adolescents (N = 764; 56.8% female, M age = 14.42, SD = 0.64) with consideration of gender. Adolescents with recent NSSI (n = 74; 83.8% female, M age = 14.36, SD = 0.56) and a matched for age and gender no-NSSI group completed measures of mindfulness and depression. Findings revealed that mindfulness and depressive symptoms were negatively correlated, although significantly less so for the NSSI group. Second, the NSSI group reported greater depressive symptoms and less mindfulness. Finally, mindfulness was found to partially mediate the effect of depressive symptoms on NSSI. The present study is the first to provide empirical support for the protective role of mindfulness in NSSI.

The authors investigated the effectiveness of a mindfulness art activity compared with a free draw/coloring activity on test anxiety in children. The sample consisted of 152 students (50% female; Mage = 10.38 years, SD = 0.88 years) randomly assigned to a mindful (n = 76) or free (n = 76) group. Participants completed a standardized measure of anxiety and state mindfulness before and after the coloring activity, immediately before a spelling test, as well as a measure of dispositional mindfulness. Results revealed an overall significant decrease in test anxiety and an overall significant increase in state mindfulness following the interventions.Furthermore, although a significant negative correlation was found between dispositional mindfulness and change in state mindfulness pre-and post-coloring intervention, a significant positive correlation was found between dispositional mindfulness and pre-intervention state mindfulness, suggesting a possible ceiling effect. Explanations for these findings and implications for school personnel and future research are discussed.Test anxiety, an individual's reaction to test taking, is experienced by approximately one third of elementary school students (Dan & Raz, 2015;Whitaker Sena, Lowe, & Lee, 2007) and is considered to be the most prevalent form of anxiety in schools (Lohbeck, Nitkowski, & Petermann, 2016). Test anxiety increases from childhood to adolescence (McDonald, 2001) and although there has been a rise in test anxiety interventions for youth, these programs are typically lengthy and include several sessions that span over multiple weeks (e.g.,

The present study examined relationships between dispositional mindfulness, coping self-efficacy, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in 97 first-year university students (78.35 % female; Mage = 18.13 years; SD = 0.81). Participants were grouped according to whether they indicated engagement in NSSI within the last 12 months, or never having engaged in NSSI, resulting in a recent NSSI group (n = 35), and a comparison group (n = 62). Participants completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale's (CSES) problem-focused and emotionfocused subscales, and the Inventory of Statements About Self-Injury (ISAS). Results obtained from Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that mindfulness was significantly and positively associated with students' perceived level of coping self-efficacy. Furthermore, students who reported having engaged in NSSI in the last 12 months (i.e., those in the recent NSSI group) reported significantly lower mindfulness and lower coping self-efficacy when compared to students with no NSSI. Interestingly, coping selfefficacy was found to fully mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and NSSI. The present study shows preliminary evidence for the role of coping selfefficacy in explaining the relation between mindfulness and NSSI. Implications for future research and practice regarding mindfulness as a protective factor for NSSI via coping self-efficacy are discussed.