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Preadolescents' Insights Following an Intervention That Decreased Chronic Stress and Improved Social Relationships

Natalia Díaz Miguez1, Paola D'Adamo2, Diego Gonzalez3

  • 1CONICET - Centro Atómico Bariloche, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina.

Child: Care, Health and Development
|January 5, 2026
PubMed

Insights

This study shows that an enactive-playful intervention significantly reduced stress and improved social integration in school-aged children. The program enhanced well-being and emotional regulation, demonstrating its effectiveness in a school setting.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Educational Intervention

Background:

  • Childhood chronic stress negatively impacts psychophysical health and social relationships.
  • School-aged children are vulnerable to stress, affecting their development and social integration.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the impact of an enactive-playful intervention on stress regulation and social integration in school-aged children.
  • To assess changes in physiological stress markers and social dynamics following the intervention.

Main Methods:

  • A 6-month intervention with 23 preadolescents (ages 10-11) involving interoceptive awareness, mind-body practices, and collaborative games.
  • Comparison with a waitlist control group (n=18).
  • Outcomes measured by hair cortisol concentration (HCC), sociometric peer preference, and semi-structured interviews.

Main Results:

  • Significant reduction in hair cortisol concentration (HCC) in the intervention group (p=0.01).
  • Improved social preference in the intervention group (p=0.02), while the control group showed a decline (p=0.00).
  • Qualitative analysis revealed enhanced well-being, emotional awareness, self-regulation, engagement, agency, and improved social relationships.

Conclusions:

  • Embodied, enactive interventions show potential for reducing stress and strengthening peer relationships in school settings.
  • This mixed-methods study integrates physiological, behavioral, and experiential data for a comprehensive analysis.
  • The intervention's positive effects were observed both within the school and extended to family settings.
Abstract

Keywords:
agencychronic stresshair cortisol concentrationmixed‐methodspeer relationshipssocial integration

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