Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Depression in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Frontiers in Psychology June 21, 2018 Xinli Chi, Ai Bo, Tingting Liu et al.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) moderately reduces depressive symptoms in adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 25 years at the end of an intervention. A meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials with 2,042 participants found a moderate effect (Hedges' g = −0.45) compared to control groups such as no treatment, treatment as usual, or active control. No statistically significant effects were observed at follow-up (Hedges' g = −0.24), likely due to insufficient statistical power. The average treatment effect may be influenced by the type of control condition, treatment duration, and participants' baseline depression levels.