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Technology-enhanced mindfulness-based collaborative social reasoning to improve adolescents' social-emotional competencies.

Manisha Nagpal, Tzu-Jung Lin, Haeun Park, Eric Anderman, Thomas Bihari, Leon Madrid, Jodi L. Ford, Balachundhar Subramaniam

Journal of Research on Adolescence May 11, 2024 DOI: 10.1111/jora.12971 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Quasi-experimental study Peer reviewed
Sample size 74
Population Sixth-grade students in four English language arts classrooms at a public middle school in the Midwestern United States
Interventions Upa-yoga Mindful breathing
Duration 45 minutes once per week for 8 weeks
Topics Meditation
Keywords Humans Adolescent behavior Cooperative behavior Emotions Self efficacy Students Child Female Social skills Interdisciplinary collaboration Learning technology Physiological assessment Social–emotional learning Collaborative discussion
Key findings The MBCSR program was associated with greater self-efficacy for using Upa-yoga and mindful breathing to regulate emotions and behaviors (partial eta squared = .13) and lower externalizing (partial eta squared = .07) and bullying behaviors (partial eta squared = .09) at posttest compared with controls, after controlling for baseline differences. No significant group differences appeared in mindfulness, emotional regulation, or social skills.

Abstract

This study reports the preliminary efficacy of an innovative school-based, technology-enhanced social-emotional learning program called "mindfulness-based collaborative social reasoning" (MBCSR) for middle school students. MBCSR was developed by an interdisciplinary team of educational psychologists, mindfulness researchers, computer scientists, and health experts. We integrated the strengths of contemplative approaches, collaborative small group discussions, learning technology, and multidimensional assessments of students' social-emotional outcomes. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study was implemented in four sixth-grade English language arts classrooms (2 experimental and 2 business-as-usual control; N = 74) in a public middle school in the Midwest of the United States. It was co-implemented by researchers and teachers, with sessions occurring for 45 minutes, once per week, for 8 weeks. The MBCSR group showed greater self-efficacy for using Upa-yoga and mindful breathing to regulate their emotions and behaviors ( ηp2 = .13), and lower externalizing ( ηp2 = .07) and bullying behaviors ( ηp2 = .09) at the posttest compared to the control group, after controlling for baseline differences. Students in the experimental group overall showed positive and relaxed emotional and physiological states during the sessions. There were no significant differences between the two groups in mindfulness, emotional regulation, and social skills. This program sets an example for integrating social-emotional learning and academic learning into students' daily content instruction.

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

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