New Study Finds School-Based Mindfulness Program Doesn’t Work—And May Even Be Harmful for Some Children
A large UK school-based 正念 program did not improve the mental health of 11- to 14-year-olds. Here are five takeaways.
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The MYRIAD Project —a collaboration involving investigators from 5 universities in England and Penn State—set out to investigate whether 正念 training can have the same positive effects in adolescence as their research has shown for adults. Exploring whether school-based 正念 training could improve the mental health of students aged 11-14, it spanned seven years, involving more than 28,000 children, 100 schools, 650 teachers. The work collected 20 million data points and included the largest randomized controlled trial of school-based 正念 to date. The researchers found that universal school-based 正念 training did not improve student mental health and may have had negative outcomes for students with existing or emerging mental health difficulties.
Here are 5 takeaways from the new school-based 正念 intervention study:
1. The 正念 training employed in this study did not help young people with their mental health or well-being
The 正念 curriculum was shown to be no more helpful than the standard social-emotional teaching in the schools. The training was developed by the Mindfulness in Schools Project and was taught by school teachers, after they had first learned 正念 for themselves and then attended a four-day training to teach 正念 to students in 10 sessions of 30-50 minutes.
According to Mark Greenberg, Founding Director, Edna Bennet Pierce Prevention Research Center, Pennsylvania State University, “The MYRIAD project carefully tested the effects of a brief 正念 intervention for early teens and found it to have no impact on preventing mental health problems or promoting well-being. In order to improve well-being for young people, it is likely we need to make broader systemic changes in schools that both teach them new coping skills and support staff to create environments where youth feel valued and respected.”
2. The 正念 study involved suggesting to students that they practice at home, which they did not do
The researchers posit that the most likely explanation for the fact that the 正念 application did not improve student mental health is that very few students (less than 20%) took any interest in doing the home practice—a key part of the program. Based on the results of this trial, a key takeaway for the design of future 正念 programs for children is that programs are likely to be more effective if they are co-designed with young people and involve much more in-depth training and support for teaching 正念 well. The model of having school teachers, with very little 正念 practice experience or training, teaching 正念 to teens and then expecting those kids to practice at-home 正念 on their own is ineffective.
3. The teachers themselves benefitted from the 正念 training, but the intervention itself proved ineffective
Teachers who underwent the 正念 training reported lower levels of burnout than teachers who didn’t. Since 正念 training has already been shown to be beneficial for adult mental health, it may not be surprising that the teachers’ 正念 training intensives benefited them.
4. The program showed an overall improvement in the “school climate” or the quality and character of school life, values, and relationships
The 正念 training improved the school climate (for example, an atmosphere of mutual respect) compared with the comparison group, as described by the teachers who took part. An improved school climate is associated with better student mental health. Researchers surmise that while students did not practice at home, by and large, what happened in the classroom may well have benefitted the quality of the classroom overall.
5. It was further confirmed that mental health in adolescents is a growing challenge
In MYRIAD’s initial survey of almost 27,000 11- to 14-year-olds in 85 schools between 2016 and 2018, over 33% of young people reported significant social-emotional-behavioral problems and depressive symptoms. Certain groups were more likely to report problems: girls, older teenagers, those living in urban areas and areas of greatest poverty and deprivation.
The results are shared in great detail both online at MYRIAD and in 7 papers comprising a special issue of British Medical Journal—Evidence-based Mental Health. MYRIAD has worked with a group of young people from schools that took part in the trial to make a film that provides their perspective on mental health and the role of schools. In addition, MYRIAD has also recorded a series of podcasts—Changing States of Mind—for teachers and students.
In the months since the MYRIAD report came out, I took the time to interview some of the key people involved and at the periphery to gather their view of what else we can learn from this immense study.
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一项最新研究发现，学校正念项目没有效果——让我们来拆解一下
研究人员和关键人物反思了这项关于学校正念项目有史以来最大规模研究的结果和影响。 了解更多 
- 巴里·博伊斯
- November 22, 2022