Objectives Studies examining the effectiveness of school-based mindfulness interventions on children’s emotional/behavioral problems when delivered by school teachers and professionals are still limited. The present study reports the effectiveness of Gaia, a 12-week program integrating a mindfulness approach into an ecological paradigm. Methods To evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, we conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial that compared outcomes for children assigned to the experimental group (E.G., Gaia program) with those of the control group (C.G.) using hierarchical linear modeling. The intervention was led by instructors within the school curriculum. Emotional/behavioral problems were assessed with the Achenbach Teacher’s Report Form at pre-test and post-test. Four hundred participants aged 6–12 years were recruited from six primary schools (E.G., n = 232; C.G., n = 168). Results Teacher-report comparisons revealed that, relative to controls, the E.G. showed significant decreases in total problems, internalizing, externalizing, and in most narrow-band scales at post-intervention. The effect sizes were medium for total problems, externalizing, and attention problems, small to medium for rule-breaking behavior and aggressive behavior, while they resulted small for internalizing and anxiety/depression. While 7.76% of the E.G. showed clinical/borderline levels of total problems before the intervention, 3.87% of this group still showed clinical/borderline levels after the intervention, whereas no children deteriorated, with a significant difference in the direction of change. Conclusions Findings from this study indicate that the Gaia program can be delivered by school instructors during a regular curriculum and the intervention is promising for reducing children’s emotional and behavioral problems.

Effectiveness of a School-Based Mindfulness Intervention on Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: the Gaia Project / Ghiroldi, Silvia; Scafuto, Francesca; Montecucco, Nitamo Federico; Presaghi, Fabio; Iani, Luca. - In: MINDFULNESS. - ISSN 1868-8527. - 11:11(2020), pp. 2589-2603. [10.1007/s12671-020-01473-9]

Effectiveness of a School-Based Mindfulness Intervention on Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: the Gaia Project

Presaghi, Fabio;
2020

Abstract

Objectives Studies examining the effectiveness of school-based mindfulness interventions on children’s emotional/behavioral problems when delivered by school teachers and professionals are still limited. The present study reports the effectiveness of Gaia, a 12-week program integrating a mindfulness approach into an ecological paradigm. Methods To evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, we conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial that compared outcomes for children assigned to the experimental group (E.G., Gaia program) with those of the control group (C.G.) using hierarchical linear modeling. The intervention was led by instructors within the school curriculum. Emotional/behavioral problems were assessed with the Achenbach Teacher’s Report Form at pre-test and post-test. Four hundred participants aged 6–12 years were recruited from six primary schools (E.G., n = 232; C.G., n = 168). Results Teacher-report comparisons revealed that, relative to controls, the E.G. showed significant decreases in total problems, internalizing, externalizing, and in most narrow-band scales at post-intervention. The effect sizes were medium for total problems, externalizing, and attention problems, small to medium for rule-breaking behavior and aggressive behavior, while they resulted small for internalizing and anxiety/depression. While 7.76% of the E.G. showed clinical/borderline levels of total problems before the intervention, 3.87% of this group still showed clinical/borderline levels after the intervention, whereas no children deteriorated, with a significant difference in the direction of change. Conclusions Findings from this study indicate that the Gaia program can be delivered by school instructors during a regular curriculum and the intervention is promising for reducing children’s emotional and behavioral problems.
2020
mindfulness; children; internalizing problems; externalizing problems; school-based intervention; hierarchical linear modeling
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Effectiveness of a School-Based Mindfulness Intervention on Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: the Gaia Project / Ghiroldi, Silvia; Scafuto, Francesca; Montecucco, Nitamo Federico; Presaghi, Fabio; Iani, Luca. - In: MINDFULNESS. - ISSN 1868-8527. - 11:11(2020), pp. 2589-2603. [10.1007/s12671-020-01473-9]
File allegati a questo prodotto
File Dimensione Formato  
Ghiroldi_school-based_mindfulness_children’s_2020.pdf

solo gestori archivio

Tipologia: Versione editoriale (versione pubblicata con il layout dell'editore)
Licenza: Tutti i diritti riservati (All rights reserved)
Dimensione 659.41 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
659.41 kB Adobe PDF   Contatta l'autore

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1475134
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 15
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 14
social impact