Contemplative Intervention Reduces Physical Interventions for Children in Residential Psychiatric Treatment.
Joshua C Felver, Richard H. Jones, Matthew A Killam, Christopher Kryger, Kristen Race, Laura Lee McIntyre
Prevention Science February 1, 2017 DOI: 10.1007/s11121-016-0720-x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 10 |
| Population | Children with severe psychiatric disabilities receiving intensive residential psychiatric care |
| Duration | 12 sessions over one month; 24-hour post-class follow-up period compared to a comparison 24-hour period |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Children Residential treatment Seclusion and restraint Yoga |
| Key findings | In the 24-hour period following a MLS class, children had significantly reduced odds of receiving a physical intervention (OR = 0.3; 95% CI 0.2, 0.5). |
Abstract
This research explored the effectiveness of a manualized contemplative intervention among children receiving intensive residential psychiatric care. Ten children with severe psychiatric disabilities received 12 sessions (30-45 min) of "Mindful Life: Schools" (MLS) over the course of a month. Facility-reported data on the use of physical intervention (i.e., seclusions and restraints) were analyzed. Acceptability questionnaires and broad-band behavioral questionnaire data were also collected from children and their primary clinicians. Robust logistic regression analyses were conducted on person-period data for the 10 children to explore the timing of incidents resulting in the use of physical intervention. Incidents within each person-period were regressed on indicators of days of contemplative practice and days without contemplative practice. Results indicated that during the 24-h period following MLS class, relative to a comparison 24-h period, children had significantly reduced odds of receiving a physical intervention (OR = 0.3; 95 % CI 0.2, 0.5; p < 0.001). Behavioral questionnaires did not indicate significant contemplative intervention effects (ps >0.05), and MLS was found to be generally acceptable in this population and setting. These data indicate that contemplative practices acutely reduced the utilization of physical interventions. Clinicians seeking to implement preventative strategies to reduce the necessity of physical intervention in response to dangerous behavior should consider contemplative practices. Those wishing to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of contemplative practices should consider evaluating objective measures, such as utilization of physical intervention strategies, as oppose to subjective reports.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cites 5
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Clarifying the construct of mindfulness in the context of emotion regulation and the process of change in therapy. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Sitting-meditation interventions among youth: a review of treatment efficacy. Pediatrics August 24, 2009
- Impact of stress reduction on negative school behavior in adolescents Health and Quality of Life Outcomes June 3, 2004