Mindfulness Interventions for Adolescents With Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Cynthia Harbeck-Weber, Sammy T Murad, Neha Ramachandran, Leslie A Sim, Karen Weiss, Dani Gerberi, M Hassan Murad, Samer Saadi
European Journal of Pain May 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.70274 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 323 |
| Population | Adolescents with chronic pain |
| Intervention | mindfulness-based interventions |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Mindfulness-based interventions are associated with significant improvements in pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain acceptance, pain interference, functioning, depression, anxiety, and quality of life in adolescents with chronic pain, with moderate to large effect sizes at follow-up. |
Abstract
Despite growing interest in mindfulness-based interventions for adolescents with chronic pain, the data have not been systematically summarized. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses to estimate the effect of mindfulness-based interventions on pain intensity, catastrophizing, acceptance and interference; functioning, quality of life, and anxiety and depression in youth with chronic pain. Electronic databases CINAHL, CCTR, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science were systematically searched to January 2, 2025. Studies were included if they were in English, included > 5 patients, were not part of intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment and included pre-post outcomes from mindfulness-based interventions delivered to adolescents with chronic pain. Risk of bias was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Fourteen studies including a total of 323 adolescents were identified. There were significant within group improvements in pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain acceptance, pain interference, functioning, depression, anxiety, and quality of life, with results maintained or increased at follow-up effect sizes at follow-up were moderate to large (e.g., quality of life SMD = 0.33; pain intensity SMD = -0.73; pain interference SMD = -1.44). Heterogeneity of results was generally moderate to high. Compared to standardized long interventions, variable length interventions showed greater pre-post changes in functioning, pain intensity, and pain catastrophizing. The certainty in the estimates was generally low, due to risk of bias and pre-post designs. Although adolescents with chronic pain report improvements after participating in mindfulness-based interventions, rigorous RCTs are needed to substantiate these results. Chronic pain in youth is common and difficult to treat. Previous interventions have largely been based on cognitive-behavioural therapy and not successful for all. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis in paediatric chronic pain to focus on mindfulness-based interventions, highlighting an alternative and potentially effective intervention approach. This study informs clinicians about an effective intervention approach and assists researchers in identifying gaps for further research.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Adolescents with Recurrent Headaches: A Pilot Feasibility Study Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2015
- Peacefull: A French mindfulness-based intervention for adolescents with chronic pain a feasibility study. Archives de pediatrie : organe officiel de la Societe francaise de pediatrie November 1, 2022
- A Mindfulness Program Adapted for Adolescents With Chronic Pain Clinical Journal of Pain November 1, 2017
- Mindfulness for adolescent chronic pain: a pilot feasibility study. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health September 2017
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Adolescents with Functional Somatic Syndromes: A Pilot Cohort Study. The Journal of Pediatrics April 2017
and 2 more in the library