Mental Health and Meditation in a Post-Pandemic Perú: A Normative Study of Upper Primary School Children
Lee Fergusson, Javier Ortiz Cabrejos, Anna Bonshek
Revista Interamericana de Psicología/Interamerican Journal of Psychology September 9, 2024 DOI: 10.30849/ripijp.v58i2.2045 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 809 |
| Population | School children in Perú from two schools |
| Intervention | Transcendental Meditation |
| Measures | DASS-21 |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Perúvian school children showed somewhat elevated depression, anxiety, and stress levels compared with pre-pandemic adolescents in several other countries, but lower levels than a similar-aged group at another school in China. Preliminary results suggest lower levels of these symptoms in children who practice Transcendental Meditation as part of the school curriculum, and girls reported higher levels than boys. |
Abstract
In a post-pandemic Perú, problems associated with the mental health of children have been highlighted and effective methods of intervention have been discussed. This study sought to examine: 1) current levels of depression, anxiety, and stress in Perúvian school children; 2) how these levels compare to other children in Latin America and elsewhere; 3) whether these levels are different when covaried for school, age, gender, and grade level; and 4) whether there are any indications that depression, anxiety, or stress are lower when Perúvian school children practice Transcendental Meditation. For a group of 809 children from two schools using the DASS-21, findings indicate depression M = 6.79, anxiety M = 6.31, and stress M = 7.37. These data indicate somewhat elevated levels when compared to other pre-pandemic adolescents in Australia, Chile, China, and Malaysia, but were lower when compared to a group of similar-aged children at another school in China. Preliminary results also suggest lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress can be observed in children who practice Transcendental Meditation as part of the school curriculum. School, age, gender, and grade level did not predict these differences, although girls had higher levels than boys, a finding consistent with other research.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |