A School-Based Mindfulness Intervention for Adolescent Mental Health: The Moderating Effect of Personality Traits
Mindfulness January 1, 2026 Marianne Holopainen, Mirka Hintsanen, Jari Lahti et al.
In a cluster randomized controlled trial with 2773 Finnish students aged 12-15, researchers examined whether Big Five personality traits moderated the effects of a 9-week school-based mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on depression, socio-emotional functioning, and resilience. Compared with active and inactive control groups, personality traits did not moderate MBI effects on resilience or socio-emotional functioning. Most moderation analyses for depressive symptoms were also nonsignificant. At the 26-week follow-up, a small moderating effect emerged between the MBI and active control groups (β = 0.31, 95% CI [0.002 to 0.63], p = 0.048), with low-extraversion adolescents in the MBI group showing the greatest improvement. Results did not differ by gender. The authors suggest moderation effects were largely nonsignificant, warranting further research.