The predictive values of state and trait mindfulness on emotion understanding in primary school children

Breath-based state mindfulness, but not self-reported trait mindfulness, was positively associated with emotion understanding in German primary school children over an eight-month school year. The multilevel model, controlling for gender, working memory updating, and concentration performance, showed a significant effect of state mindfulness on emotion understanding alongside time and working memory updating. The authors suggest that brief mindfulness practices may support social-emotional competences even without explicit social-emotional learning components, highlighting their potential relevance in school contexts.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Introduction: Although positive effects of mindfulness-based interventions in schools on children's cognition and behaviors are frequently reported, there is a lack of studies on the association between children's mindfulness and their interpersonal social-emotional competences. The present study addresses this gap by analyzing the association between breath-based state mindfulness, self-reported trait mindfulness, and emotion understanding in German primary school children. Methods: = 0.69, 48% female) across three measurement points over an eight-months period during one school year. The effects of children's mindfulness on their emotion understanding across all measurement points were analyzed in a multilevel mixed-effects linear model, controlling for gender, working memory updating, and concentration performance. Results: In addition to the significant effects of time and children's working memory updating, a significant effect of breath-based state mindfulness on children's emotion understanding was found. Discussion: These findings may suggest that children's mindfulness practice could have positive effects on social-emotional competences, such as emotion understanding, even when explicit components of social-emotional learning are not included in the mindfulness practice. This study highlights the potential relevance of brief mindfulness practices for supporting children's social-emotional development in school contexts. Future research should further investigate this association and potential mediators in more detail using larger samples.