The Effectiveness of Child-Centered Mindfulness Therapy on Emotion Regulation and Self-Concept Improvement in Children with Divorced Parents
Yasaman Mohammadi, Vahid Savabi Niri, Shahrzad Shayanfar
Quarterly Journal of Child Mental Health August 1, 2023 DOI: 10.61186/jcmh.10.2.5 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with control group and 2-month follow-up Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | Children with divorced parents in Kermanshah city, Iran, in 2019 |
| Intervention | Mindfulness intervention based on Bordick's (2017) model |
| Duration | 10 sessions; 2-month follow-up |
| Measures | Children and Adolescents Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross and John, 2003), Children's Self-Concept Questionnaire (Piers and Harris, 1969) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | The authors report that 10 sessions of child-based mindfulness training improved emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal and suppression) and all six self-concept components (behavior, rational and school status, physical appearance and attributes, anxiety, popularity, happiness and satisfaction) in children with divorced parents, with effects maintained at a 2-month follow-up. They propose that mindfulness increases mental flexibility and reconnects internal and external resources. |
Abstract
Background and Purpose: Children whose parents divorce each other face stress that has shortterm and long-term psychological effects.Based on this, the present research was conducted with the aim of the effectiveness of child-based mindfulness therapy on emotion regulation and improving self-concept in children with divorced parents.Method: The present study was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with a control group and a 2-month follow-up phase.The statistical population of the research was all children with divorced parents in Kermanshah city in 2019, 30 children with divorced parents were selected by conveniance sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups.The experimental group received 10 sessions of mindfulness intervention based on Bordick's (2017) model, while the control group was placed on the waiting list to receive the intervention after the end of the study.The instruments used included the Children and Adolescents Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross and John, 2003) and the Children's Self-Concept Questionnaire (Piers and Harris, 1969).Data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance.Results: The findings showed that mindfulness training on the components of emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal (P<0.01,F=29.361) and suppression (P<0.01,F=31.652) and the components of children's self-concept (behavior (P<0.01,F=17.813), rational and school status (P<0.01,F=16.762), physical appearance and attributes (P<0.01,F=8.421), anxiety (P<0.01,F=19.429), popularity (P<0.01,F=21.927), happiness and satisfaction (P<0.01,F=18.691) have a positive effect and these results obtained continued in the follow-up period (P<0.01).Conclusion: When children of divorce feel that there is nothing they can do, mindfulness gives them other choices by increasing mental flexibility, and this issue is effective in regulating their emotions.Also, mindfulness leads to improved self-concept by reconnecting internal and external sources, sources that a person may not even believe in.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- A mindfulness-based intervention to increase resilience to stress in university students (the Mindful Student Study): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial The Lancet Public Health December 18, 2017
- Association of psychological and physiological measures of stress in health‐care professionals during an 8‐week mindfulness meditation program: mindfulness in practice Stress and Health August 23, 2005
- The Effect of Mindfulness Therapy on Tolerance of Uncertainty and Thought-Action Fusion in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Quarterly Journal of Child Mental Health April 10, 2019
- Mindfulness-based interventions for chronic pain: Evidence and applications. Asian Journal of Psychiatry February 2018
- Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Anxiety and Depression Psychiatric Clinics of North America September 18, 2017
and 1 more in the library