A randomized controlled evaluation of a secondary school mindfulness program for early adolescents: Do we have the
Catherine Johnson1, Christine Burke2, Sally Brinkman3
1School of Psychology, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia.
Objective:
Mindfulness is being promoted in schools as a prevention program despite a current small evidence base. The aim of this research was to conduct a rigorous evaluation of the .b ("Dot be") mindfulness curriculum, with or without parental involvement, compared to a control condition.
Method:
In a randomized controlled design, students (Mage 13.44, SD 0.33; 45.4% female) across a broad range of socioeconomic indicators received the nine lesson curriculum delivered by an external facilitator with (N = 191) or without (N = 186) parental involvement, or were allocated to a usual curriculum control group (N = 178). Self-report outcome measures were anxiety, depression, weight/shape concerns, wellbeing and mindfulness.
Results:
There were no differences in outcomes between any of the three groups at post-intervention, six or twelve month follow-up. Between-group effect sizes (Cohen's d) across the variables ranged from 0.002 to 0.37. A wide range of moderators were examined but none impacted outcome.
Conclusions:
Further research is required to identify the optimal age, content and length of mindfulness programs for adolescents in universal prevention settings.
Trial Registration:
ACTRN12615001052527.
