Empowering Children’s Voices: Exploring Social-Emotional Benefits of School-Based Mindfulness Training Through Children’s Drawings
Xiaolu Dai, Ana Karen G. Barajas, Anne‐Marie Burn, Renhui Lyu, Shuang Lu
Mindfulness March 4, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-026-02769-y (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Mixed-methods qualitative study nested within a cluster randomized controlled trial Preregistered Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 29 |
| Population | Chinese migrant children, mean age 10.3 years |
| Intervention | School-based mindfulness intervention |
| Duration | 12-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Children described perceived benefits of a 12-week school-based mindfulness intervention across two themes: emotional well-being (body–emotion awareness, emotion regulation) and social well-being (impulse control, prosocial behaviors, kindness). Drawing analysis complemented interview narratives, and the authors propose a preliminary "Mindful–Social–Emotional Model" to organize these perceived benefits. |
Abstract
Abstract Objectives Recent research suggests mindfulness as a promising approach to support children’s social-emotional well-being, but the meaning of mindfulness interventions to children’s well-being is rarely explored from the children’s perspective. Using Chinese migrant children as an example, this study explored vulnerable children’s experiences of a school-based mindfulness intervention.
Method: This study was part of a large-scale cluster randomized controlled trial and adopted a mixed-methods design, combining qualitative and quantitative analytic strategies. Twenty-nine migrant children (mean age = 10.3 years) participated in in-depth interviews after a 12-week intervention. Children’s self-portraits representing their perception of self before and after the intervention were collected during the interviews. Interview transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, and an exploratory quantitative analysis examined differences in drawing features between these two self-portraits with visual elements potentially linked to mental well-being.
Results: Thematic analysis elicited two key themes and five subthemes: (1) emotional well-being, which included two subthemes, body–emotion awareness and emotion regulation; and (2) social well-being, which included three subthemes, impulse control, prosocial behaviors, and kindness. Drawing analysis complemented the narrative findings, illustrating how children used drawings to express psychosocial change. A preliminary Mindful–Social–Emotional Model is proposed to organize children’s descriptions of their perceived benefits.
Conclusions: This study highlights the potential value of school-based mindfulness programs in promoting social-emotional competencies among vulnerable children. Drawing-based interviews provided a developmentally appropriate means to access children’s voices and perspectives on change. Preregistration This study is not preregistered.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cites 9
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Minding one’s emotions: Mindfulness training alters the neural expression of sadness. Emotion February 1, 2010
- Test anxiety, psychological adaptability, and learning performance: Effects of a mindfulness training intervention on university students. Journal of Education and Health Promotion July 31, 2025
- Do mindfulness-based programmes improve the cognitive skills, behaviour and mental health of children and adolescents? An updated meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Evidence-Based Mental Health July 12, 2022
and 4 more in the library