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In a non‐randomized controlled study, we investigated the efficacy of a school‐based mindfulness curriculum delivered by schoolteachers to older secondary school students (16–18 years). We measured changes in emotion processing indexed by P3b event‐related potential (ERP) modulations in an affective oddball task using static human faces. ERPs were recorded to happy and sad face oddballs presented in a stimulus stream of frequent faces with neutral expression, before and after 8 weeks of mindfulness training. Whilst the mean amplitude of the P3b, an ERP component typically elicited by infrequent oddballs, decreased between testing sessions in the control group, it remained unchanged in the training group. Significant increases in self‐reported well‐being and fewer doctor visits for mental health support were also reported in the training group as compared to controls. The observed habituation to emotional stimuli in controls thus contrasted with maintained sensitivity in mindfulness‐trained students. These results suggest that in‐school mindfulness training for adolescents has scope for increasing awareness of socially relevant emotional stimuli, irrespective of valence, and thus may decrease vulnerability to depression.

There is a growing interest in developing mindfulness skills in the context of education as a means to improve psychological well-being together with work-related skills and performance of children and adolescents. Here, we report findings from a feasibility pilot study exploring the acceptability and impact of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course with mixed-gender self-selected sixth-form students (N=23; age 16–18) studying for General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations. The study followed a nonrandomized controlled design with a 3-month follow-up. Participants (11 in the training group, 13 controls) reported on the acceptability of the course after its completion. In addition, they completed self-report measures assessing depression, anxiety, stress (DASS 21) and well-being (WHO-5) before the start of the MBSR training (Time 1), after its completion (Time 2) and at follow-up (Time 3). The impact of participation on academic attainment and medical absences was also evaluated. The MBSR course attendance rates were very high (94 %), attrition rate was very low (one participant) and 90 % of the course attendees said they would recommend the course to others. We have also found medium-size effect differences between the training and control groups on depression scores at T2 (d=0.57, p=0.09, one-tailed) and T3 (d=0.57, p=0.08, one-tailed), with the training group scoring lower. In addition, there was a medium-size effect on anxiety reduction from T2 to T3 (d=0.74, p=0.07, two-tailed) in the training group only. The results also revealed a medium-size effect difference in academic attainment between the two groups at T3 (d=0.65, p=0.08, one-tailed), with students in the training group achieving better grades—a difference which equates to nearly one GCE grade per subject. Our findings suggest that the MBSR programme may be an acceptable and effective intervention for self-selected groups of sixth-form students, and participation in the MBSR course may benefit sixth-form students by improving their psychological health and supporting them in achieving their academic potential. Further larger scale studies are needed to provide conclusive evidence.

There is a growing interest in developing mindfulness skills in the context of education as a means to improve psychological well-being together with work-related skills and performance of children and adolescents. Here, we report findings from a feasibility pilot study exploring the acceptability and impact of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course with mixed-gender self-selected sixth-form students (N = 23; age 16–18) studying for General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations. The study followed a non-randomized controlled design with a 3-month follow-up. Participants (11 in the training group, 13 controls) reported on the acceptability of the course after its completion. In addition, they completed self-report measures assessing depression, anxiety, stress (DASS 21) and well-being (WHO-5) before the start of the MBSR training (Time 1), after its completion (Time 2) and at follow-up (Time 3). The impact of participation on academic attainment and medical absences was also evaluated. The MBSR course attendance rates were very high (94 %), attrition rate was very low (one participant) and 90 % of the course attendees said they would recommend the course to others. We have also found medium-size effect differences between the training and control groups on depression scores at T2 (d = 0.57, p = 0.09, one-tailed) and T3 (d = 0.57, p = 0.08, one-tailed), with the training group scoring lower. In addition, there was a medium-size effect on anxiety reduction from T2 to T3 (d = 0.74, p = 0.07, two-tailed) in the training group only. The results also revealed a medium-size effect difference in academic attainment between the two groups at T3 (d = 0.65, p = 0.08, one-tailed), with students in the training group achieving better grades—a difference which equates to nearly one GCE grade per subject. Our findings suggest that the MBSR programme may be an acceptable and effective intervention for self-selected groups of sixth-form students, and participation in the MBSR course may benefit sixth-form students by improving their psychological health and supporting them in achieving their academic potential. Further larger scale studies are needed to provide conclusive evidence.

There is a growing interest in developing mindfulness skills in the context of education as a means to improve psychological well-being together with work-related skills and performance of children and adolescents. Here, we report findings from a feasibility pilot study exploring the acceptability and impact of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course with mixed-gender self-selected sixth-form students (N=23; age 16–18) studying for General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations. The study followed a nonrandomized controlled design with a 3-month follow-up. Participants (11 in the training group, 13 controls) reported on the acceptability of the course after its completion. In addition, they completed self-report measures assessing depression, anxiety, stress (DASS 21) and well-being (WHO-5) before the start of the MBSR training (Time 1), after its completion (Time 2) and at follow-up (Time 3). The impact of participation on academic attainment and medical absences was also evaluated. The MBSR course attendance rates were very high (94 %), attrition rate was very low (one participant) and 90 % of the course attendees said they would recommend the course to others. We have also found medium-size effect differences between the training and control groups on depression scores at T2 (d=0.57, p=0.09, one-tailed) and T3 (d=0.57, p=0.08, one-tailed), with the training group scoring lower. In addition, there was a medium-size effect on anxiety reduction from T2 to T3 (d=0.74, p=0.07, two-tailed) in the training group only. The results also revealed a medium-size effect difference in academic attainment between the two groups at T3 (d=0.65, p=0.08, one-tailed), with students in the training group achieving better grades—a difference which equates to nearly one GCE grade per subject. Our findings suggest that the MBSR programme may be an acceptable and effective intervention for self-selected groups of sixth-form students, and participation in the MBSR course may benefit sixth-form students by improving their psychological health and supporting them in achieving their academic potential. Further larger scale studies are needed to provide conclusive evidence.

Studies investigating the feasibility and impact of mindfulness programs on emotional wellbeing when delivered by school teachers in pre-adolescence are scarce. This study reports the findings of a controlled feasibility pilot which assessed acceptability and emotional well-being outcomes of an 8-week mindfulness program (Paws b) for children aged 7–9 years. The program was delivered by school teachers within a regular school curriculum. Emotional well-being was measured using self-report questionnaires at baseline, post-training and 3 months follow-up, and informant reports were collected at baseline and follow-up. Seventy one participants aged 7–9 years were recruited from three primary schools in the UK (training group n = 33; control group n = 38). Acceptability of the program was high with 76% of children in the training group reporting ‘liking’ practicing mindfulness at school, with a strong link to wanting to continue practicing mindfulness at school (p < 0.001). Self-report comparisons revealed that relative to controls, the training group showed significant decreases in negative affect at follow-up, with a large effect size (p = 0.010, d = 0.84). Teacher reports (but not parental ratings) of meta cognition also showed significant improvements at follow-up with a large effect size (p =