Mindfulness based intervention with an attentional comparison group in at risk young adolescents: a pilot randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Risky behaviors are related to poor outcomes among young adolescents. This study piloted a mindfulness based intervention, Learning 2 Breath Mindfulness Curriculum, focusing on the feasibility of programming and intervention effects on coping, affect, and trait mindfulness among at-risk adolescents. Further, the mindfulness based intervention was compared to an attention intervention. METHODS: Sixth-grade level female students in a boarding school for at-risk youth randomly allocated to either the mindfulness intervention (n = 12) or an attention intervention (n = 11) for six weeks. Outcomes (i.e., primary coping, positive affect, and trait mindfulness) were assessed before and after the interventions. RESULTS: Intervention groups did not differ in demographics or outcomes at baseline. Twenty-two of 23 (95.7%) registered participants attended all of the sessions. Participants completed 86.4% of study tools. Separate repeated measures ANOVAs revealed no significant interactions among group and time for primary coping, positive affect, or mindfulness. However, positive affect did increase [F(1, 17) = 10.675, p = 0.005, partial η(2) = 0.39] over time for both groups and there was a slight increase in trait mindfulness over time (although not statistically significant; p = 0.095, partial η(2) = 0.155]). Primary coping did not change with time. CONCLUSION: The mindfulness intervention utilized in the present study exhibited feasibility in this population. Although preliminary, mindfulness based interventions may contribute to positive affect among at-risk youth in a boarding school. Limitations and future directions are discussed.