Health School-based Mindfulness Interventions for Improving Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

Abstract

Objectives School-based mindfulness interventions have recently shown promise for treating and preventing mental health issues in young people. However, the literature lacks a high-level perspective of the impact of mindfulness on young people's mental health according to their own first-hand accounts. Therefore, the objective of this study was to conduct the first systematic review and thematic synthesis to rigorously evaluate the qualitative evidence pertaining to students' experiences of school-based MBIs. Methods The following electronic databases were searched for qualitative school-based mindfulness intervention papers published up until the end of March 2019: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. An assessment of study quality was undertaken using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme qualitative checklist. Results The initial literature search returned 4102 papers and seven studies met all of the inclusion criteria. The thematic synthesis identified four major themes of (i) using attentional processes to regulate emotions and cognitions, (ii) stress reduction, (iii) improved coping and social skills, and (iv) calming and/or relaxation. Conclusions Findings show that school-based MBIs are experienced by students as having a range of benefits to mental health, including in both preventative and treatment contexts. However, efforts should be made to improve methodological quality, including taking steps to minimise recall bias and provide a greater degree of transparency regarding how students are selected to attend qualitative interviews or focus groups.

Mindfulness-based interventions: an overall review

“…‘.b’, mindful schools, well and resilience program) have been implemented across the world. 79 , 80 These programmes can target at students, teachers, and even parents or caregivers. 81 Recent systematic reviews found MBIs hold promises in particular in improving resilience to stress, cognitive performance such as attention, and emotional problems in children and youths.…”

Mindful parenting: future directions and challenges

“…Inconsistency has been identified in terms of the experience of the teachers who deliver mindful parenting interventions (Sapthiang, Van Gordon & Shonin, 2019a, 2019bVan Gordon et al, 2019). For example, in some studies, the mindfulness teacher is not mentioned (Behbahani et al, 2018;Corthorn, 2018;May et al, 2016), and multiple studies reference "mental health professionals" conducting mindful parenting training following participation in an eight-day mindfulness training course Meppelink et al, 2016;Potharst et al, 2018).…”

Contemplative Psychology: History, Key Assumptions, and Future Directions

“…Mindfulness also has applications in, for example, organizational settings (e.g., improving work-related well-being; Shonin, Van Gordon, Dunn, et al, 2014), forensic psychology (e.g., reducing reoffending; Auty et al, 2017), and educational psychology (e.g., enhancing learning environments; Sapthiang et al, 2019). Furthermore, neuroimaging studies indicate that mindfulness can augment self-regulatory efficacy; the most consistent longitudinal effect is increased insular cortex activity (Younga et al, 2018).…”