Effectiveness of the Mindfulness-Based OpenMind-Korea (OM-K) Preschool Program

Abstract

Preschool years provide a window of opportunity to enhance attentional flexibility, increase inhibitory control, build resilience, and strengthen emotion regulation in children. We assessed the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program—OpenMind-Korea (OM-K)—on preschool children’s emotion regulation, resilience, and prosocial behaviors. In a two-arm randomized controlled trial, two of four preschools were randomly assigned to the intervention condition and two to the control condition. The teachers in the intervention condition implemented the OM-K program (n = 42 children), and the teachers in the control condition provided instruction as usual (n = 41 children). At baseline (pre-intervention), the children in the control condition were rated as being significantly better on all outcome variables than those in the intervention condition. Although children in the intervention condition improved on all outcome variables, the children in the control condition continued to be rated higher on all outcome variables at the first post-intervention assessment. However, the children in the intervention condition were rated with significantly higher scores than the children in the control condition at the second and third post-intervention assessments. The children in the intervention condition were rated with significantly higher scores on lability/negativity, resilience, and prosocial behaviors. Although the ratings for adaptive regulation were higher for the children in the intervention condition than those in the control condition, the ratings did not reach statistical significance. This study suggests that implementing the OM-K program in preschools may enhance the children’s emotion regulation (adaptive regulation, lability/negativity), resilience, and prosocial behavior (helping, sharing, cooperation, and comfort to others).