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Anxiety, depression and eating disorders show peak emergence during adolescence and share common risk factors. School-based prevention programs provide a unique opportunity to access a broad spectrum of the population during a key developmental window, but to date, no program targets all three conditions concurrently. Mindfulness has shown promising early results across each of these psychopathologies in a small number of controlled trials in schools, and therefore this study investigated its use in a randomised controlled design targeting anxiety, depression and eating disorder risk factors together for the first time. Students (M age 13.63; SD = .43) from a broad band of socioeconomic demographics received the eight lesson, once weekly.b ("Dot be") mindfulness in schools curriculum (N = 132) or normal lessons (N = 176). Anxiety, depression, weight/shape concerns and wellbeing were the primary outcome factors. Although acceptability measures were high, no significant improvements were found on any outcome at post-intervention or 3-month follow-up. Adjusted mean differences between groups at post-intervention were .03 (95% CI: -.06 to -.11) for depression, .01 (-.07 to -.09) for anxiety, .02 (-.05 to -.08) for weight/shape concerns, and .06 (-.08 to -.21) for wellbeing. Anxiety was higher in the mindfulness than the control group at follow-up for males, and those of both genders with low baseline levels of weight/shape concerns or depression. Factors that may be important to address for effective dissemination of mindfulness-based interventions in schools are discussed. Further research is required to identify active ingredients and optimal dose in mindfulness-based interventions in school settings.
Over the past decade, training in mindfulness—the intentional cultivation of moment-by-moment non-judgmental focused attention and awareness—has spread from its initial western applications in medicine to other fields, including education. This paper reviews research and curricula pertaining to the integration of mindfulness training into K-12 education, both indirectly by training teachers and through direct teaching of students. Research on the neurobiology of mindfulness in adults suggests that sustained mindfulness practice can enhance attentional and emotional self-regulation and promote flexibility, pointing toward significant potential benefits for both teachers and students. Early research results on three illustrative mindfulness-based teacher training initiatives suggest that personal training in mindfulness skills can increase teachers’ sense of well-being and teaching self-efficacy, as well as their ability to manage classroom behavior and establish and maintain supportive relationships with students. Since 2005, 14 studies of programs that directly train students in mindfulness have collectively demonstrated a range of cognitive, social, and psychological benefits to both elementary (six studies) and high school (eight studies) students. These include improvements in working memory, attention, academic skills, social skills, emotional regulation, and self-esteem, as well as self-reported improvements in mood and decreases in anxiety, stress, and fatigue. The educational goals, target population, and core features of ten established mindfulness-based curricula are described. Finally, the need for more rigorous scientific evidence of the benefits of mindfulness-based interventions in K-12 education is discussed, along with suggestions of specific process, outcome, and research-design questions remaining to be answered.