ArticleEvidence-based mental health2022
Do mindfulness-based programmes improve the cognitive skills, behaviour and mental health of children and adolescents? An updated meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Article in Evidence-based mental health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 38 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Feasibility of Mindfulness-based Training for Teachers and Young Children for Social Emotional and Ethical Development (SEED)
Effects of Social, Emotional and Ethical Development Curriculum (SEED) Video Intervention on Preschoolers: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy of Mindfulness-based Training for Teachers and Young Children for Social Emotional and Ethical Development (SEED)-Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Investigator Meditation Practice Predicts Efficacy of Child/Adolescent Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Meta-Analysis.Psychotherapy and psychosomatics · 2026Pooled it
- Mindfulness-Based Programmes for Work Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2025Pooled it
- Consumer-Grade Neurofeedback With Mindfulness Meditation: Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the Adherence to Home-Practice Meditation Exercises in Patients with Chronic Pain.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Can a Universal Mindfulness Intervention in Schools Reduce ADHD Symptoms among Adolescents? A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2025Trial
- Mind it! A mindfulness-based group psychotherapy for substance use disorders in adolescent inpatients.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Trial
- Work Engagement and Well-being Study (SWELL): a randomised controlled feasibility trial evaluating the effects of mindfulness versus light physical exercise at work.BMJ mental health · 2024Trial
- Daily breath-based mindfulness exercises in a randomized controlled trial improve primary school children's performance in arithmetic.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- A narrative review of school-based preventive interventions on mental disorders and addictions.Discover mental health · 2026Review
- Happiness Toolkit in a paediatric outpatient setting for children with social, emotional, behavioural and/or mental health difficulties: a prospective cohort study.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Article
- Longitudinal and dynamic associations of engagement in mindfulness training with emotion regulation difficulties, mindfulness, and self-compassion in community adolescents.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2026Article
- Article
- Adolescents' trajectories of mental health in the MYRIAD trial.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Smartphone App-Delivered Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Concussion in Adolescents (MBI-4-mTBI): Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies · 2026Article
- Using Multi-Informant Qualitative Data to Inform Adaptations to Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Adolescents With Chronic Migraine.The Clinical journal of pain · 2026Article
- Beyond awareness: mental health promotion requires epistemic diversity, not pathologization.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Low mood, worry and mind wandering in children.The British journal of developmental psychology · 2025Article
- Introducing a mindfulness-based intervention in school curriculum to 16-24-year-olds. A nationwide cluster-randomized trial.Npj mental health research · 2025Article
- The Impact of Mindfulness Training in Physical Education on Students' Motivation, Intention, and Physical Activity.International journal of school health · 2025Article
- Home Environment as a Therapeutic Target for Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases: Delivering Restorative Living Spaces, Patient Education and Self-Care by Bridging Biophilic Design, E-Commerce and Digital Health Technologies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
questionMindfulness-based programmes (MBPs) are an increasingly popular approach to improving mental health in young people. Our previous meta-analysis suggested that MBPs show promising effectiveness, but highlighted a lack of high-quality, adequately powered randomised controlled trials (RCTs). This updated meta-analysis assesses the-state-of the-art of MBPs for young people in light of new studies. It explores MBP's effectiveness in active vs passive controls; selective versus universal interventions; and studies that included follow-up. STUDY SELECTION AND ANALYSIS: We searched for published and unpublished RCTs of MBPs with young people (<19 years) in PubMed Central, PsycINFO, Web of Science, EMBASE, ICTRP, ClinicalTrials.gov, EThOS, EBSCO and Google Scholar. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted, and standardised mean differences (Cohen's d) were calculated.
findingsSixty-six RCTs, involving 20 138 participants (9552 receiving an MBP and 10 586 controls), were identified. Compared with passive controls, MBPs were effective in improving anxiety/stress, attention, executive functioning, and negative and social behaviour (d from 0.12 to 0.35). Compared against active controls, MBPs were more effective in reducing anxiety/stress and improving mindfulness (d=0.11 and 0.24, respectively). In studies with a follow-up, there were no significant positive effects of MBPs. No consistent pattern favoured MBPs as a universal versus selective intervention.
conclusionsThe enthusiasm for MBPs in youth has arguably run ahead of the evidence. While MBPs show promising results for some outcomes, in general, the evidence is of low quality and inconclusive. We discuss a conceptual model and the theory-driven innovation required to realise the potential of MBPs in supporting youth mental health.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.