| 1. |
- Lassander, Maarit, et al.
(author)
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Effects of school-based mindfulness intervention on health-related quality of life : moderating effect of gender, grade, and independent practice in cluster randomized controlled trial
- 2021
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In: Quality of Life Research. - : Springer. - 0962-9343 .- 1573-2649. ; 30, s. 3407-3419
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECT: We investigated the impact of a school-based 9-week mindfulness program vs. active control program (relaxation) and inactive control group on children's self-reported Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) moderated by gender, grade, and independent practice.METHOD: In total 3519 (50/50% boys/girls) Finnish students aged 12-15 years from 56 schools were randomized into mindfulness intervention, active, and inactive control groups. HRQoL was measured at baseline, at 9 weeks, and at 26 weeks and analyzed with multilevel linear modeling.RESULTS: Significant improvement on HRQoL was found (β = mean difference) (β = 1.587, 95% CI 0.672-2.502, p < 0.001) after 9 weeks and at 26 weeks of follow-up among students in the mindfulness group as compared to the active control group. Moderating effects on HRQoL were found for gender, grade, and independent practice: girls, 7th and 8th grade students, and students with regular independent mindfulness practice benefited most.CONCLUSIONS: Gender and developmental stage may moderate the effects of mindfulness interventions on HRQoL and offer guidance in designing effective promotive interventions for children and adolescents.TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Healthy Learning Mind-a school-based mindfulness and relaxation program: a study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) ISRCTN18642659 retrospectively registered on 13 October 2015. The full trial protocol can be accessed at http://rdcu.be/t57S .
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| 2. |
- Lassander, Maarit, et al.
(author)
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Healthy Learning Mind (HLM) : Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial on A Mindfulness Intervention, Moderators and Association with Perceived Socioeconomic Status, and Comparison to Other National Data
- 2023
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In: Child and Youth Care Forum. - : Springer Nature. - 1053-1890 .- 1573-3319. ; 52:1, s. 157-176
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: This paper presents the baseline characteristics and their moderators in the Healthy Learning Mind (HLM)– school-based cluster-randomized controlled trial. Objectives: The paper evaluates the state of various measures of well-being, their moderators and how these results compare to national and global norms/population studies. Methods: Data were collected from all participants prior to the intervention and further analyzed by gender, grade and perceived socioeconomic status, including standardized measures for resilience, depressive symptoms and socioemotional functioning; health-related quality of life, dispositional mindfulness, satisfaction with life, compassion/self-kindness, self-rated health and morning tiredness. Results: Participating 2793 students (1425 girls, 1368 boys), ages 12 to 15 years, filled in the questionnaires. The outcomes were in line with previous research, demonstrating gender differentiation and lower wellbeing among older children and adolescents. Conclusions: All outcomes were associated with perceived socioeconomic status, suggesting that perceived low socioeconomic status should be addressed as a serious risk factor and included as a moderator in similar trials.
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| 3. |
- Lassander, Maarit, et al.
(author)
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Pilot study on students’ stress reactivity after mindfulness intervention compared to relaxation control group
- 2022
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In: International Journal of Stress Management. - : American Psychological Association (APA). - 1072-5245 .- 1573-3424. ; 29:3, s. 306-317
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The current pilot study examines the effects of a mindfulness intervention versus relaxation-based active control on psychophysiological reactivity measured by heart rate (HR), high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), skin conductance level (SCL), and number of skin conductance responses (SCR) in adolescents. A total of 110 students, ages 12 and 15, participated from four schools. The conditions of a 9-week mindfulness intervention or a relaxation-based active control were randomly assigned to schools. At the baseline (preintervention), participants completed a test protocol with three different tasks: an arithmetic task, a minimal stress task, and a social stress-inducing speech task, divided into argue, oppose, and comment subtasks. The test protocol was repeated postintervention at 9 weeks and followed up at 26 weeks. For the speech task (oppose), the number of SCRs increased in the control group during both (9-week and 26-week) follow-ups, but stayed at the same level in the intervention group (i.e., the stress response in the control group increased). Additionally, HR and SCL reactivity were close to significance, demonstrating an increase in the control group and increased stress. There were no significant differences in HR, HF-HRV, and SCL between the intervention and control groups. The results of this pilot study suggest that in a highly stressful social situation, mindfulness, compared to the active control, might have a subtle effect in lowering sympathetically driven physiological stress reactivity. Other measures show either no effects or tentative findings that should be addressed in future studies with larger samples.
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| 4. |
- Lassander, Maarit, et al.
(author)
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The Effects of School-based Mindfulness Intervention on Executive Functioning in a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
- 2020
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In: Developmental Neuropsychology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 8756-5641 .- 1532-6942. ; 45:7-8, s. 469-484
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Executive functions (EFs) are essential for student's learning and classroom functioning. The current cluster randomized controlled trial examines the effects of mindfulness intervention vs. active control program (i.e., relaxation) focusing on the main EFs (i.e., working memory, response inhibition, cognitive processing, cognitive flexibility and verbal fluency). A total of 131 students from 6th grade and 8th grade (median age 12 and 15) from four comprehensive schools participated. The schools were to equal shares randomized to intervention and active control groups, i.e., groups who underwent a 9-week mindfulness practice or relaxation program, respectively. Participants completed a cognitive test-package at baseline/pre-intervention, post-intervention at 9 weeks and follow-up at 6 months. Both intervention and active relaxation-based control groups improved on a majority of EF measures at both 9 weeks and 6 months. There was no significant difference between the mindfulness intervention group and the active control program in EFs. The current study suggests that mindfulness intervention and active control program do not differ in their effects to EFs, although both may have positive outcomes. Further research with both active and inactive control groups is needed to map the potential benefits of similar programs for cognitive functioning.
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| 5. |
- Volanen, Salla-Maarit, et al.
(author)
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Healthy Learning Mind - a school-based mindfulness and relaxation program : a study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial
- 2016
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In: BMC Psychology. - : BioMed Central. - 2050-7283. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Mindfulness has shown positive effects on mental health, mental capacity and well-being among adult population. Among children and adolescents, previous research on the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions on health and well-being has shown promising results, but studies with methodologically sound designs have been called for. Few intervention studies in this population have compared the effectiveness of mindfulness programs to alternative intervention programs with adequate sample sizes.METHODS/DESIGN: Our primary aim is to explore the effectiveness of a school-based mindfulness intervention program compared to a standard relaxation program among a non-clinical children and adolescent sample, and a non-treatment control group in school context. In this study, we systematically examine the effects of mindfulness intervention on mental well-being (primary outcomes being resilience; existence/absence of depressive symptoms; experienced psychological strengths and difficulties), cognitive functions, psychophysiological responses, academic achievements, and motivational determinants of practicing mindfulness. The design is a cluster randomized controlled trial with three arms (mindfulness intervention group, active control group, non-treatment group) and the sample includes 59 Finnish schools and approx. 3 000 students aged 12-15 years. Intervention consists of nine mindfulness based lessons, 45 mins per week, for 9 weeks, the dose being identical in active control group receiving standard relaxation program called Relax. The programs are delivered by 14 educated facilitators. Students, their teachers and parents will fill-in the research questionnaires before and after the intervention, and they will all be followed up 6 months after baseline. Additionally, students will be followed 12 months after baseline. For longer follow-up, consent to linking the data to the main health registers has been asked from students and their parents.DISCUSSION: The present study examines systematically the effectiveness of a school-based mindfulness program compared to a standard relaxation program, and a non-treatment control group. A strength of the current study lies in its methodologically rigorous, randomized controlled study design, which allows novel evidence on the effectiveness of mindfulness over and above a standard relaxation program.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN18642659 . Retrospectively registered 13 October 2015.
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| 6. |
- Volanen, Salla-Maarit, et al.
(author)
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Healthy learning mind – Effectiveness of a mindfulness program on mental health compared to a relaxation program and teaching as usual in schools : A cluster-randomised controlled trial
- 2020
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In: Journal of Affective Disorders. - : Elsevier. - 0165-0327 .- 1573-2517. ; 260, s. 660-669
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have shown promising effects on mental health among children and adolescents, but high-quality studies examining the topic are lacking. The present study assessed the effects of MBI on mental health in school-setting in an extensive randomised controlled trial. Methods: Finnish school children and adolescents (N = 3519), aged 12–15 years (6th to 8th graders), from 56 schools were randomized into a 9 week MBI group, and control groups with a relaxation program or teaching as usual. The primary outcomes were resilience, socio-emotional functioning, and depressive symptoms at baseline, at completion of the programs at 9 weeks (T9), and at follow-up at 26 weeks (T26). Results: Overall, mindfulness did not show more beneficial effects on the primary outcomes compared to the controls except for resilience for which a positive intervention effect was found at T9 in all participants (β=1.18, SE 0.57, p = 0.04) as compared to the relaxation group. In addition, in gender and grade related analyses, MBI lowered depressive symptoms in girls at T26 (β=−0.49, SE 0.21, p = 0.02) and improved socio-emotional functioning at T9 (β=−1.37, SE 0.69, p = 0.049) and at T26 (β=−1.71, SE 0.73, p = 0.02) among 7th graders as compared to relaxation. Limitations: The inactive control group was smaller than the intervention and active control groups, reducing statistical power. Conclusions: A short 9-week MBI in school-setting provides slight benefits over a relaxation program and teaching as usual. Future research should investigate whether embedding regular mindfulness-based practice in curriculums could intensify the effects.
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