Healthy learning mind - Effectiveness of a mindfulness program on mental health compared to a relaxation program and teaching as usual in schools: A cluster-randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have shown promising effects on mental health among children and adolescents, but high-quality studies examining the topic are lacking. The present study assessed the effects of MBI on mental health in school-setting in an extensive randomised controlled trial. METHODS: Finnish school children and adolescents (N = 3519), aged 12-15 years (6th to 8th graders), from 56 schools were randomized into a 9 week MBI group, and control groups with a relaxation program or teaching as usual. The primary outcomes were resilience, socio-emotional functioning, and depressive symptoms at baseline, at completion of the programs at 9 weeks (T9), and at follow-up at 26 weeks (T26). RESULTS: Overall, mindfulness did not show more beneficial effects on the primary outcomes compared to the controls except for resilience for which a positive intervention effect was found at T9 in all participants (ß=1.18, SE 0.57, p = 0.04) as compared to the relaxation group. In addition, in gender and grade related analyses, MBI lowered depressive symptoms in girls at T26 (ß=-0.49, SE 0.21, p = 0.02) and improved socio-emotional functioning at T9 (ß=-1.37, SE 0.69, p = 0.049) and at T26 (ß=-1.71, SE 0.73, p = 0.02) among 7th graders as compared to relaxation. LIMITATIONS: The inactive control group was smaller than the intervention and active control groups, reducing statistical power. CONCLUSIONS: A short 9-week MBI in school-setting provides slight benefits over a relaxation program and teaching as usual. Future research should investigate whether embedding regular mindfulness-based practice in curriculums could intensify the effects.

Negative life events and stability of sense of coherence: a five-year follow-up study of Finnish women and men.

A strong sense of coherence (SOC) is found to be associated with good mental health. This study investigated (1) whether negative life events affect level of SOC, (2) whether initial level of SOC modifies the effect of negative life events on SOC, and (3) whether stability of SOC differs between genders. The data were derived from the 15-year Health and Social Support study (N= 17,271). Ordinary linear regression analysis was used. Negative life events decreased the level of SOC among both genders irrespective of the timing of the event. The more recent the life event, the lower the SOC. A strong SOC in 1998 did not protect SOC from declining during follow-up. Specific gender differences were not discovered. SOC was related to negative changes in people's environment. Initially strong SOC was not more stable than initially mediocre or weak SOC. Men and women reacted quite similarly to negative life events.