The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a mindfulness training programme in schools compared with normal school provision (MYRIAD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundMindfulness-based approaches for adults are effective at enhancing mental health, but few controlled trials have evaluated their effectiveness or cost-effectiveness for young people. The primary aim of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a mindfulness training (MT) programme to enhance mental health, wellbeing and social-emotional behavioural functioning in adolescence.Methods/designTo address this aim, the design will be a superiority, cluster randomised controlled, parallel-group trial in which schools offering social and emotional provision in line with good practice (Formby et al., Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education: A mapping study of the prevalent models of delivery and their effectiveness, 2010; OFSTED, Not Yet Good Enough: Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education in schools, 2013) will be randomised to either continue this provision (control) or include MT in this provision (intervention). The study will recruit and randomise 76 schools (clusters) and 5700 school students aged 12 to 14 years, followed up for 2 years.DiscussionThe study will contribute to establishing if MT is an effective and cost-effective approach to promoting mental health in adolescence.Trials registrationInternational Standard Randomised Controlled Trials, identifier: ISRCTN86619085. Registered on 3 June 2016.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-017-1917-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Research Review: The effects of mindfulness‐based interventions on cognition and mental health in children and adolescents – a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…This meta‐analysis reinforces the promise of using MBIs for improving the mental health and wellbeing of youth when using the gold standard RCT methodology. Future RCT evaluations should incorporate scaled‐up definitive trial designs to further evaluate the robustness of MBIs in youth (Medical Research Council, , ), for example, the ongoing MYRIAD trial (Kuyken et al., ), with a focus on mechanisms of action to further enhance evolving MBI protocols.…”

“…At present, in the context of MBIs for youth, no such definitive evaluations are available, although some are in progress (e.g. the Kuyken et al., , protocol). In the absence of any definitive trials of MBIs with children and adolescents, meta‐analytic synthesis of studies that characterize the current state‐of the‐art is essential.…”

“…In addition, adolescence is a vulnerable period for the onset of mental health problems, with around 50% of all mental illness appearing before the age of 14 (Kessler et al, 2005). Since mindfulness training has demonstrated efficacy in preventing depressive relapse in adults (see Kuyken et al, 2016 for an individual participant data analysis of randomized controlled trials), it is appropriate to explore whether MBIs could also prevent depression or improve mental health and wellbeing in young people.…”

Cognitive mechanisms predicting resilient functioning in adolescence: Evidence from the CogBIAS longitudinal study

“…Some have argued that by focusing research on resilience and corresponding protective factors, we will be in a better position to inform interventions designed to promote wellbeing and prevent mental health problems (Kalisch et al, 2017). There is currently a large-scale research effort taking place in the UK investigating the effect of school-based mindfulness practice on adolescent cognitive and emotional development (Kuyken et al, 2017). Such large-scale research efforts are needed and it is important to also investigate other potential cognitive interventions such as CBM interpretation or memory bias training, which may also promote emotional resilience in adolescents.…”

Does a mindfulness-augmented version of the German Strengthening Families Program reduce substance use in adolescents? Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…However, based on the positive results of a broad range of psychological and clinical outcomes (e.g., [48]), there is growing interest in the application of MT in youth populations in clinical and non-clinical settings [42,43,45,46]. Although most of this research is thus far preliminary (more rigorous clinical trials are underway [59][60][61], existing studies overall indicate applicability, safety, and initial efficacy of developmentally appropriate versions of MT for children and adolescents. This generally supports the idea that MT can have a significant impact on health and resilience among children and adolescents.…”