Preschool and school-based mindfulness programmes for improving mental health and cognitive functioning in young people aged 3 to 18 years

O'Toole, Catriona; Furlong, Mairéad; McGilloway, Sinéad; Bjørndal, Arild

doi:10.1002/14651858.cd012518

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Our findings have important implications for delivery of nonprescriptive, school‐based mindfulness programs, particularly for younger children. Our findings provide support that schools and early learning centers are considered very important for promoting children's mental health and well‐being, as children spend the majority of their time in schools (O'Toole et al, 2017; Rempel, 2012). It has been recognized that embedding mental health programs within schools can lead to positive educational and mental health impacts among students, particularly those who have suffered from traumatic exposures, but also among all students using a universal approach (O'Toole et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Our findings provide support that schools and early learning centers are considered very important for promoting children's mental health and well‐being, as children spend the majority of their time in schools (O'Toole et al, 2017; Rempel, 2012). It has been recognized that embedding mental health programs within schools can lead to positive educational and mental health impacts among students, particularly those who have suffered from traumatic exposures, but also among all students using a universal approach (O'Toole et al, 2017). In the current project, teachers generally reported very high opinions of the program and positive outcomes within their students in a relatively short period of time.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

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Implementation of a teacher‐led mindfulness program in a low‐income pre‐ and early‐elementary school as part of a trauma‐responsive, resilience‐building community initiative

King

Lewis

Ritchie³

et al. 2021

Journal Community Psychology

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Children living in disadvantaged communities experience higher rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) which can lead to poor health outcomes. Mindfulness has been shown to help individuals who are exposed to cumulative stress build resilience and psychological well-being. This pilot study aimed to determine teachers' perceptions of a 6-week school-based, teacher-led mindfulness program in a Gainesville, Florida pre-and early elementary low-income school. The program was conducted as part of a trauma-responsive, resilient community initiative. Teachers were trained on a set of mindfulness skills and were asked to lead practices for 10-15 min per day, 3 or more times per week for 6 weeks. Teachers completed qualitative interviews to determine their perceptions of the program. A total of eight teachers participated, with 124 students receiving the program. Teachers reported high impressions of the program and that students were calmer and more relaxed as a result of the program. Training teachers to deliver mindfulness practices as part of their normal classroom activities is realistic, easily adaptable, and can lead to adoption of a communitywide mindfulness framework. Diffusing mindfulness programs more broadly as part of a preventive, traumaresponsive community has the potential to lessen the effects of ACEs.adverse childhood experiences, mindfulness, resilience, trauma-informed approaches, trauma-responsive community | INTRODUCTIONAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) refer to a set of 10 childhood experiences that include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; physical and emotional neglect; intimate partner violence committed against the child's mother or stepmother; substance abuse and mental illness within the household; household member who has been incarcerated; and parental divorce (CDC, 2010; SAMHSA, 2014). When experienced chronically, ACEs have the potential to cause trauma (SAMHSA, 2014). ACEs are common, with over 60% of the population experiencing at least one, and tend to cluster together, with approximately 15% of the population experiencing four or more, with most studies now focusing on the cumulative effects of ACEs (CDC, 2010). As score on the ACEs questionnaire increases, the individual's risk of life course morbidity, mortality, and adverse social outcomes increases, with more ACEs being associated with increased severity of the outcome (CDC, 2010). A systematic review of outcomes associated with ACEs identified a wide array of psychosocial and behavioral effects, such as tobacco use, alcohol problems, risky sexual behaviors and depression, as well as poor medical outcomes, including respiratory disease, sleep problems, diabetes and ischemic heart disease (Petruccelli et al., 2019). Felitti et al. (1998) first explored the relationship between ACEs and health risk behaviors and diseases in adulthood and found that more than half of respondents reported at least one ACE and one fourth reported two or more. The landmark study found a dose-response relationship, with those who had reporte...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Implementation of a teacher‐led mindfulness program in a low‐income pre‐ and early‐elementary school as part of a trauma‐responsive, resilience‐building community initiative

King

Lewis

Ritchie³

et al. 2021

Journal Community Psychology

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“…Furthermore, although systematic reviews and research syntheses have been criticised for their positivist orientation and apparent "empty empiricism", these approaches can provide a firmer foundation for primary empirical studies, challenge existing theories and provide a tool for sharpening conceptual categories in particular fields (Andrews, 2004). Systematic reviews can also take an explicit equality lens to investigate the impact of particular types of interventions on mental health inequalities (Kavanagh et al, 2009, see also O'Toole et al, 2017).…”

Section: Moving Towards Innovative and Interdisciplinary School-based Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards dynamic and interdisciplinary frameworks for school-based mental health promotion

O'Toole

2017

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise two ostensibly disparate approaches to school-based mental health promotion and offer a conceptual foundation for considering possible synergies between them. Design/methodology/approach -The paper examines current conceptualisations of child and youth mental health and explores how these inform school-based prevention and intervention approaches. The dominance of discrete, "expert-driven" psychosocial programmes as well as the potential of critical pedagogy is explored using frameworks provided by contemporary dynamic systems theories. These theories call for a situated and holistic understanding of children's development; and they look beyond static characteristics within individuals, to view well-being in relation to the dynamic social and historical contexts in which children develop. Findings -Psychosocial interventions and critical pedagogies have strengths but also a number of limitations. Traditional psychosocial interventions teach important skill sets, but they take little account of children's dynamic socio-cultural contexts, nor acknowledge the broader inequalities that are frequently a root cause of children's distress. Critical pedagogies, in turn, are committed to social justice goals, but these goals can be elusive or seem unworkable in practice. By bringing these seemingly disparate approaches into conversation, it may be possible to harness their respective strengths, in ways that are faithful to the complex, emergent nature of children's development, as well as committed to correcting inequalities. Originality/value -The current paper is unique in bringing together contemporary psychological theory with critical pedagogy perspectives to explore the future of school-based mental health promotion.

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“…Additionally, students with executive dysregulation may have challenges controlling their behaviors and emotions, which could cause them to experience social rejection and bullying [ 3 ]. The adverse effects of executive dysregulation may continue into adulthood, “negatively affecting academic achievement, relationships, and employment” [ 4 ]. Therefore, it is imperative to provide students with tools and strategies to strengthen their EFs, especially those in the upper elementary grades who are increasingly required to complete more complex tasks and are often socially fragile.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One tool that has been gaining momentum and has shown promising findings in improving the EFs of school children is mindfulness training [ 5 ]. “According to Kabat-Zinn (1990), “mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally [ 6 ].” Students who engaged in mindfulness training have shown improvements in attention, self-regulation, and mental processing [ 4 ], as well as cognition, academic performance, behavior, and EFs [ 7 ]. Students who meditate display “higher levels of mindfulness, better attentional performance, and higher cognitive flexibility” [ 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mindfulness and Executive Functions: Making the Case for Elementary School Practice

Ritter

Álvarez

2020

EJIHPE

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This study explores the use of mindfulness school-based intervention program in an elementary school. Mindfulness training is an accepted and effective didactic approach to improve the executive functions (EFs) of elementary school students. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the Mind Yeti program on the executive functions of elementary school students. A diverse sample of third, fourth, and fifth grade elementary school students (n = 177) participated in their natural classroom setting, with six sessions per week for six weeks. Students self-reported their EFs on the Executive Function Student Questionnaire (EFSQ) pre-and posttest. Paired-sample t-tests indicated that students significantly improved on the three of the six EFs examined. Additionally, students in fifth grade responded better to Mind Yeti than students in third grade. Results were consistent with the hypothesis, suggesting that Mind Yeti is an appropriate and effective intervention for improving the EFs of students. 545 changes in the brain, which is thought to improve EFs as it "fosters enhanced resilience and more optimal brain function" [10].With regard to the use of instruments for assessing mindfulness with young children there are remarkable studies worth to mention like the Child Observation of Mindfulness Measure (C-OMM) [11] proving to be relevant during teacher-directed activities only or the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (In-Class) to assess children's behaviors as they pertain to desirable social behaviors requiring trained observers to note, interpret, and code select children's behaviors related to their experiences with teachers, peers and tasks [12].In addition, there are multiple MBI programs and curricula marketed to schools for use with elementary school students and they have "differences in the underlying content, methods, dosage, and effectiveness" [13]. For example, Semple et al. [14] conducted an open trial, pre-posttest design study where seven and eight year old elementary students with high levels of anxiety received six weekly, forty-five minutes MBI training using an adapted version of the adult Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) intervention programs. The intervention was implemented by a researcher in a small group setting outside of the students' regular classroom. The finding indicated that the mindfulness training improved students' anxiety and inattention. However, the sample size was extremely small (five students) and students received the intervention outside of their classroom setting. A recent study using a pretest and posttest pilot quasi-random assignment on 45 students between seven and nine years old was conducted by Nadler et al. [15]. The researchers implemented a 10-min mindfulness practice (mindful stretches with a guided breath-based meditation) or a quiet play activity led by outside instructors and found that students' self-reported calmness improved. Again, the sample was small, and the intervention was conduc...

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Preschool and school-based mindfulness programmes for improving mental health and cognitive functioning in young people aged 3 to 18 years

Cited by 8 publications

References 62 publications

Implementation of a teacher‐led mindfulness program in a low‐income pre‐ and early‐elementary school as part of a trauma‐responsive, resilience‐building community initiative

Implementation of a teacher‐led mindfulness program in a low‐income pre‐ and early‐elementary school as part of a trauma‐responsive, resilience‐building community initiative

Towards dynamic and interdisciplinary frameworks for school-based mental health promotion

Mindfulness and Executive Functions: Making the Case for Elementary School Practice

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