Abstract
Mindfulness is a mental state that can be achieved through meditation. So far, studies have shown that practicing mindfulness on a consistent and regular basis can improve attentional functions and emotional well-being. Mindfulness has recently begun to be used in the field of child development. The goal of this study is to assess if a mindfulness program may help primary school students in reducing anxiety and depression while also improving their temperamental characteristics. This multi-arm pre-post study included 41 subjects recruited in the fifth year of two primary school classes. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group, but not the control group, underwent an eight-week mindfulness training. Every week, the program included 60-min group sessions. QUIT (Italian Questionnaires of Temperament) and TAD (Test for Anxiety and Depression in Childhood and Adolescence) were used to assess temperament, and anxiety and depression, respectively. Both groups were administered both instruments before and after mindfulness intervention. The mindfulness program lowered anxiety levels and was effective in changing temperament dimensions: there was an increase in social orientation (SO), positive emotionality (PE), and attention (AT), as well as a decrease in inhibition to novelty (IN) and negative emotionality. Path analysis revealed that AT may promote the improvement of both SO and IN. Similarly, PE may be promoted by the decrease of IN. Clinical implications are discussed.
Highlights
Mindfulness-based interventions are mainly complex programs with more components cultivating mindfulness, such as breathing awareness practice, working with thoughts and emotions, awareness practices of senses and daily life, kindness practice, etc., and they represent the central teaching of Buddhist practice [1]
The control group was composed by 18 subjects (4 females, 22.22%) and the mindfulness group was composed by 23 subjects (10 females, 43.48%)
Our study demonstrated that a mindfulness program in a group of primary school children (9–11 years old), with respect to a matched non-active control group, was able to improve anxiety-related symptoms and the temperamental dimensions of social orientation (SO), positive emotionality (PE), AT, inhibition to novelty (IN), and NE
Summary
Mindfulness-based interventions are mainly complex programs with more components cultivating mindfulness, such as breathing awareness practice, working with thoughts and emotions, awareness practices of senses and daily life, kindness practice, etc., and they represent the central teaching of Buddhist practice [1]. According to Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness could be described as the process of paying particular attention, on purpose, to the present moment, and in a non-judgmental manner [1]. It is conceptualized by modern psychology as the development of a particular type of attention given to the present moment, characterized by acceptance of experience and suspension of judgment, which allows the practitioner to respond in the most appropriate way to any given situation rather than reacting to it. One of the essential objectives of any psychology or institution that intervenes towards subjects in developmental age is to favor the development and maintenance of the individual’s health and the prevention of physical and mental discomfort [9]. Mindfulness-based interventions have been proved to improve mental health and well-being among adults and youth as well [2,5]
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