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| Credit: ianellis-jones.blogspot.com |
Mindfulness
could reduce symptoms of stress and depression and promote wellbeing among
school children, according to a new study published online by the British
Journal of Psychiatry.
A
team of researchers led by Professor Willem Kuyken from the University of
Exeter, in association with the University of Oxford, the University of
Cambridge and the Mindfulness in Schools Project, recruited 522 pupils, aged
between 12 and 16 years, from 12 secondary schools to take part in the study.
256 pupils at six of the schools were taught the MiSP (Mindfulness in Schools
Project)'s curriculum, a nine week introduction to mindfulness designed for the
classroom.
The
other 266 pupils at the other six schools did not receive the mindfulness
lessons, and acted as a control group.
All
the pupils were followed up after a three month period. The follow-up was timed
to coincide with the summer exam period -- which is a potential time of high
stress for young people.
The
researchers found that those children who participated in the mindfulness
programme reported fewer depressive symptoms, lower stress and greater
wellbeing than the young people in the control group.
Encouragingly,
around 80% of the young people said they continued using practices taught in
MiSP's mindfulness curriculum after completing the nine week programme.
Teachers and schools also rated the curriculum as worthwhile and very enjoyable
to learn and teach.
Professor Kuyken said: "This is potentially a very important
finding, given that low-grade depressive symptoms can impair a child's
performance at school, and are also a risk factor for developing adolescent and
adult depression."
Professor
Katherine Weare, who has been instrumental in promoting the teaching of
resilience in schools, said: "These findings are likely to be of great
interest to our overstretched schools who are trying to find simple, cost
effective and engaging ways to promote the resilience of their students -- and
of their staff too -- at times when adolescence is becoming increasingly
challenging, staff under considerable stress, and schools under a good deal of
pressure to deliver on all fronts.”
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The
above story is based on the June 19, 2013 news release by the University of Exeter.
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