Adolescents do not benefit from universal school-based mindfulness interventions: a reanalysis of Dunning et al. (2022).

Summary

Mindfulness interventions in schools may not effectively improve adolescent mental health. Analyzing data from 22 randomized trials involving 16,558 participants, significant improvements were only seen in anxiety/stress (d = 0.17) and wellbeing (d = 0.10) when compared to active controls. However, when compared to all control groups, mindfulness interventions showed no meaningful benefits across various outcomes, with effect sizes ranging from 0.01 to 0.26. No lasting effects were noted at follow-up, raising concerns about their role as a universal prevention strategy for adolescents.

Abstract

Are universal school-based mindfulness interventions an effective way to reduce risk for mental disorders and improve adolescents' lives? To answer this question, we reanalyzed data from Dunning et al.'s (2022) meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of mindfulness interventions delivered to children and adolescents. Though Dunning et al. (2022) reported some benefits of universal mindfulness interventions, their analysis did not examine adolescents separately from children. Consequently, their conclusions may not entirely reflect the effectiveness of universal mindfulness interventions specifically for adolescents, a developmental period when mental disorders are known to increase. Using their open-access data tables, we tested impacts of 22 randomized controlled trials (N = 16,558) on eight outcome categories-anxiety/stress, attention, depression, executive functioning, mindfulness, negative behavior, social behavior, and wellbeing-at immediate post-test and longest follow-up. Our reanalysis shows that when compared to passive controls, mindfulness interventions significantly reduced trait mindfulness (d = -0.10). When compared to active controls, mindfulness interventions significantly improved anxiety/stress (d = 0.17) and wellbeing (d = 0.10). When compared to all controls combined, mindfulness interventions did not significantly improve any outcome (ds = 0.01 to 0.26). No effects of mindfulness interventions were observed at follow-up assessment. Overall, results of our analysis cast doubt about the value of existing school-based mindfulness interventions as a universal prevention strategy for adolescents.

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