The effect of mindfulness-based interventions on inattentive and hyperactive–impulsive behavior in childhood: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Current research has reported the beneficial effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on general domains of cognition and behavior among children. The present study is the first meta-analysis with controlled studies investigating the pre-post change effects of MBIs on two widely experienced behaviors in childhood education, namely inattentiveness and hyperactivity–impulsivity. With a special developmental focus on the early years, a total of 21 studies with 3- to 12-year-old children were included in the meta-analysis. Results indicated that MBIs decreased children’s overall inattentive and hyperactive–impulsive behavior with a small but significant effect size ( k = 21, g + = .38, p < .001). However, this overall positive effect was only significant when teachers rated children’s behavior and nonsignificant when parents and children themselves were the informants. Additionally, MBIs showed a moderate effect in reducing inattentiveness and hyperactivity–impulsivity for children at risk for such behavior. In conclusion, results indicate that MBIs, which are relatively easily applied in educational practice, have the potential to decrease inattentive and hyperactive–impulsive behavior and might contribute to children’s overall better functioning at school.

The Differential Impact of Acute Exercise and Mindfulness Meditation on Executive Functioning and Psycho-Emotional Well-Being in Children and Youth With ADHD

“…To the authors' knowledge, this was the first study to evaluate the relative contributions of acute exercise and mindfulness meditation in supporting executive functioning and psycho-emotional well-being among children with ADHD. As mentioned, prior studies have either been systematic reviews with no direct empirical comparisons between exercise and mindfulness meditation (Herbert and Esparham, 2017), or have been done exclusively in neurotypical younger adults (Van Der Zwan et al, 2015;de Bruin et al, 2016;Luu and Hall, 2017) or neurotypical older adults (Håkansson et al, 2017). There has been no work to date comparing these interventions in the context of children with ADHD.…”

“…Although some prior research has compared exercise and mindfulness mediation, only a few studies have evaluated the relative contributions of exercise and mindfulness meditation in supporting executive functioning and alleviating ADHD symptomology. However, these studies have either been systematic reviews with no direct empirical comparison of the two interventions (Herbert and Esparham, 2017), or have been conducted exclusively in neurotypical younger adults (Van Der Zwan et al, 2015;de Bruin et al, 2016;Luu and Hall, 2017;Edwards et al, 2018) or neurotypical older adults (Håkansson et al, 2017). Prior research has also primarily involved chronic engagement in interventions and programs, especially in the area of mindfulness meditation, but there has been minimal work investigating the impact of acute bouts.…”

“…However, all aforementioned studies compared experienced meditators to non-meditators, and focused on mindfulness meditation interventions that were either short term (4 days to 1 week) or long term (months to years; Evans et al, 2018 ). There is novel evidence, however, that the length of mindfulness-based interventions does not impact the intervention's effectiveness; shorter interventions may be just as efficacious as longer alternatives for reducing ADHD symptomology (Vekety et al, 2021 ). Engagement in just one session of a mindful activity (i.e., mindful coloring) is associated with increased mindfulness (Carsley and Heath, 2018 ).…”

“…Engagement in just one session of a mindful activity (i.e., mindful coloring) is associated with increased mindfulness (Carsley and Heath, 2018 ). Despite this initial evidence, there has not been enough rigorous research conducted (e.g., studies using active control groups and an adequate sample size) to make definitive commentary about how acute mindfulness meditation affects children and youth with ADHD (Chimiklis et al, 2018 ; Tercelli and Ferreira, 2020 ; Vekety et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Although prior evidence supports the efficacy of week-long or month-long physical exercise or mindfulness meditation programs in mitigating ADHD symptoms (Cornelius et al, 2017 ; Chimiklis et al, 2018 ; Vekety et al, 2021 ), the effect of acute bouts (i.e., single, short bouts) in supporting children and youth with ADHD remains unclear (Colzato et al, 2016 ; Vekety et al, 2021 ). Establishing the effectiveness of an acute bout of exercise and mindfulness meditation could advance their applications as potential interventions, providing caregivers and individuals with ADHD additional easily accessible tools to reduce ADHD symptoms in just 10-min.…”