Somatic interventions to improve self-regulation in children and adolescents

Children and adolescents who are exposed to stress and trauma often experience, as a result, an inability to regulate their emotions. Self-regulation is necessary to accurately respond to situations and ensure success in the academic setting. Self-regulation skills have been identified as improving resiliency and mitigating the effects of trauma on children and adolescents.

The purpose of this review of the literature is to synthesize the available research on somatic interventions to improve self-regulation in the child and adolescent population.

A scoping review of literature utilizing the Arksey and O'Malley framework was conducted by a university health science librarian from 2006 to 2018 using PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, ERIC, and Web of Science to identify studies that examined somatic self-regulation skills in children and adolescents. Search terms included were mindfulness, yoga, deep breathing exercises, and self-regulation. The PRISMA methodology was utilized to synthesize the available research on somatic interventions to improve self-regulation in the child and adolescent population.

Somatic interventions have been shown to improve self-regulation in the child and adolescent population. Future research is needed to identify dose-specific interventions and opportunities to improve self-regulation for children and adolescents.