A 10-week mindfulness-based intervention was implemented with a group of incarcerated adolescents. After the program, participants reported significantly lower perceived stress and significantly higher healthy self-regulation, but no significant change in self-reported mindfulness. The findings suggest such interventions are feasible for this population.
Teaching mindfulness to incarcerated adolescent substance users requires adapting instruction to their developmental stage, trauma histories, and restricted environment. Over one year, interviews with ten adolescents in an urban California detention facility revealed that effective teaching involves building trust, using concrete language, keeping sessions short, and integrating movement. The initial grounded theory emphasizes relationship, relevance, and repetition as core components. The findings suggest that standard mindfulness curricula need modification for this population, and that even within constraints, adolescents can engage with mindfulness practices.