Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40489459›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

A teacher-led classroom intervention in an area of Mexico experiencing community violence: A controlled mixed-method feasibility study.

Suzanne M Connolly, Leonor Zarazúa Menchaca, Héctor Figueroa Palafox, Heather L Adams, John Freedom

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Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Suzanne M ConnollyResearch Committee, Association of Comprehensive Energy Psychology, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-4349-5958
Leonor Zarazúa MenchacaDepartment of Community Projects, San Andrés Pesc ador Asociación, Ciudad de México, México.
Héctor Figueroa PalafoxDepartment of Poverty Analysis, Guidelines for the Measurement of Poverty and Social Development, National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development, Ciudad de México, México.
Heather L AdamsResearch Studio LLC, Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States of America.
John FreedomResearch Committee, Association of Comprehensive Energy Psychology, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-8263-3255

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesWe aimed to explore the effectiveness of a daily ten-minute teacher-led group thought field therapy stress-reduction intervention on middle-school adolescents residing in an area experiencing high levels of interpersonal and community violence. We hypothesized that it would lead to a reduction of trauma symptoms and improve grades in reading and math.

methodsIn this double-masked feasibility study, adolescents in one school received a daily teacher-led thought field therapy intervention, and children in a different school served as an active waitlist group and received the same amount of time in a daily unguided drawing activity. The schools were geographically distant to prevent cross-contamination.

resultsDue to differences between groups in PTSD and academic performance prior to intervention, differences within each school's scores over time were calculated and compared to each other for indirect assessment of effect. PTSD scores at the treatment school showed no lasting change at five months, while the control school showed moderate improvement. Adolescents in the treatment group demonstrated large improvements in both reading and math. Adolescents in the control group demonstrated moderate decrease in math, and no change in reading.

conclusionsPreliminary evidence gained in this study suggests that a teacher-led ten-minute group thought field therapy exercise might assist adolescents' learning in reading and math. However, in an area experiencing ongoing interpersonal and community violence, a more multicomponent approach with longer periods of intervention, caretaker involvement and individual therapy for those who might benefit from it, may be needed. Study registration number: ISRCTN10548974.

Indexed as

School TeachersStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticViolenceAdolescentChildDouble-Blind MethodFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMexicoSchools

Identifiers

PMID40489459
PMCPMC12148136

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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.