A pilot study of the efficacy of a mindfulness program for children newly diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Impact on core symptoms and executive functions

ABSTRACT

Mindfulness has emerged as a new approach for treating mental disorders. The aim of this study is to investigate preliminary efficacy of group-based mindfulness meditation training for children on core symptoms, executive functioning and comorbidity symptoms in a children naïve Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) sample. Five children aged 7-12 years newly diagnosed with ADHD received an eight-week group-based mindfulness treatment. The program consisted of once-per-week sessions lasting 75 minutes and daily homework assignments. The study assessments included pre-and posttest measure of psychiatric symptoms and cognitive functioning. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Pre-post improvements in ADHD symptoms and test performance on tasks measuring executive functioning were noted. Significant results were observed in total ADHD symptoms (p= .042), anxiety symptoms (p= .042), cognitive inhibition (p= .042) and processing speed (p= .043). In summary, although the sample size was small, our pilot study suggests that mindfulness training for children is a feasible intervention in at least a subset of ADHD children and may improve behavioral and neurocognitive impairments (AU)

RESUMEN

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