Volanen, S.-M. (S.-M.), Lassander, M. (M.), Hankonen, N. (N.), Santalahti, P. (P.), Hintsanen, M. (M.), Simonsen, N. (N.), Raevuori, A. (A.), Mullola, S. (S.), Vahlberg, T. (T.), But, A. (A.), Suominen, S. (S.), Volanen, S.-M. (S.-M.), Lassander, M. (M.), Hankonen, N. (N.), Santalahti, P. (P.), Hintsanen, M. (M.), Simonsen, N. (N.), Raevuori, A. (A.), Mullola, S. (S.), Vahlberg, T. (T.), But, A. (A.), and Suominen, S. (S.)
Background: Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have shown promising effects on mental health among children and adolescents, but high-quality studies examining the topic are lacking. The present study assessed the effects of MBI on mental health in school-setting in an extensive randomised controlled trial. Methods: Finnish school children and adolescents (N = 3519), aged 12–15 years (6th to 8th graders), from 56 schools were randomized into a 9 week MBI group, and control groups with a relaxation program or teaching as usual. The primary outcomes were resilience, socio-emotional functioning, and depressive symptoms at baseline, at completion of the programs at 9 weeks (T9), and at follow-up at 26 weeks (T26). Results:Overall, mindfulness did not show more beneficial effects on the primary outcomes compared to the controls except for resilience for which a positive intervention effect was found at T9 in all participants (β=1.18, SE 0.57, p = 0.04) as compared to the relaxation group. In addition, in gender and grade related analyses, MBI lowered depressive symptoms in girls at T26 (β=−0.49, SE 0.21, p = 0.02) and improved socio-emotional functioning at T9 (β=−1.37, SE 0.69, p = 0.049) and at T26 (β=−1.71, SE 0.73, p = 0.02) among 7th graders as compared to relaxation. Conclusions