Core instructor competencies of mindfulness-based programming for youth: Delphi method consensus outcomes

The implementation of mindfulness-based programming/interventions (MBP) for youth, and corresponding research, has proliferated in recent years. Absent from the current literature is an identification of core instructor competencies to effectively deliver MBP for youth. This research identified these competencies by establishing consensus opinion among expert mindfulness scholars and instructors. The Delphi method surveyed expert MBP scientists and instructors to identify consensus of instructor competencies of MBP for youth. The study's advisory board identified expert scientists based on topical publication record and peer nomination. Delphi Round 1 surveyed scientists (n = 19) to name and define potential instructor competencies; responses were qualitatively analyzed yielding 33 categorical codes. Delphi Round 2 recruited additional expert MBP instructors (n = 21) identified by scientist participants and peer instructor nomination. In Rounds 2 and 3 the full participant sample (expert scientists and instructors) were asked to consider the preceding Round's results and whether each of the 33 identified codes were an essential core instructor competency of MBPs for youth. Final Round 3 results indicated consensus (≥75% endorsement) of 11 of the 33 identified codes as core instructor competencies of MBP for youth. These findings are the first to report expert consensus of core instructor competencies of MBP for youth, and results have implications for future youth MBP curriculum development, specification of instructional competencies based on developmental characteristics of youth and instructors, program implementation, and research evaluation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).