Effectiveness and mechanisms of change of a mindfulness-based intervention on elementary school children: A cluster-randomized control trial.

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the school context are increasingly widespread worldwide. The present study evaluates the effectiveness of a school-MBI (GrowingUp Breathing program) on children's socio-emotional and academic development. Three hundred thirteen elementary students from 7 to 12 years old from two schools in Madrid (Spain) participated. A cluster-randomized control trial was designed, assigning eight classrooms to the MBI-group (N = 155) and eight classrooms to the waiting-list control group (N = 158). Measures were evaluated at pre- and post-intervention in both groups and a 3-month follow-up was collected in the MBI-group. Children self-reported their mindfulness skills (i.e., dispositional mindfulness and psychological inflexibility) and well-being (i.e., anxiety and life satisfaction) and teachers evaluated children's social-emotional competence (i.e., emotion regulation, peer-relationship problems, and prosociality), well-being (i.e., emotional symptoms), and academic competence (i.e., student engagement and academic achievement). Mindfulness skills and emotional regulation were examined as potential mediators. Results revealed that children who received the MBI, compared to children in the WLC-group, improved their mindfulness skills, emotion regulation, prosociality, and emotional and behavioral engagement and decreased anxiety and peer-relationship problems. Positive changes in dispositional mindfulness led to reductions in children's anxiety and psychological inflexibility. Positive changes in emotional regulation led to improvements in prosociality and student engagement and decreased peer-relationships problems and emotional symptoms. Therefore, the results showed that a brief-MBI integrated in the Spanish regular school curriculum enhanced children's socio-emotional and academic development. Dispositional mindfulness and emotion regulation work as processes of change that underlie the intervention's impact.

The effectiveness of a school mindfulness-based intervention on the neural correlates of inhibitory control in children at risk: A randomized control trial.

Interest in the applications of mindfulness practice in education is growing in the scientific community. Recent research has shown that mindfulness practice in schools may be beneficial for executive functions (EFs) which are abilities crucial for healthy development. The study of the effects of mindfulness practices on children's neural correlates of EFs, particularly inhibitory control, may provide relevant information about the impact and mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in children. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a MBI in elementary school children on the neural correlates of inhibitory control via a randomized controlled trial. Children from two 4th grade classrooms and two 5th grade classrooms located in a school identified as having low socioeconomic status in Santiago de Chile were randomly assigned to either receive a MBI or serve as active controls and receive a social skills program. Both before and after the interventions, electroencephalographic activity was recorded during a modified version of the Go/Nogo task in a subsample of children in each group. Additionally, teachers completed questionnaires of students' EFs and students completed self-report measures. Results revealed increases in EFs assessed by questionnaires together with improved P3 amplitude associated with successful response inhibition in children who received the MBI compared to active controls. These results contribute to the understanding of the ways in which mindfulness practices can promote the development of inhibitory control together with EF improvement, factors identified as critical for children's social and emotional development and positive mental health. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This study investigated the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention in children from a low socioeconomic status school on neural correlates of EFs. Children performed a Go/Nogo task while electroencephalographic activity was recorded and completed questionnaires before and after a MBI or an active control program. Improvements in EFs assessed by questionnaires together with an increased Nogo-P3 activity associated with successful inhibition in children who received the MBI were found. The results could contribute to understand how mindfulness practice can promote the development of inhibitory control in children from vulnerable populations.

Mindfulness for adults with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability: A pilot study.

The present study aims to examine the effects of the MindfulTEA program, an Mindfulness-based Interventions (MBIs) specifically designed for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectual Disability, to reduce behavioural problems. MBIs are effective in improving well-being in people with high-functioning ASD, but little is known about the impact of the MBIs on people with ASD and intellectual disability associated. Fourteen adults (age 18 to 44) with ASD and intellectual disability participated in the program. Results showed a significant decrease in self-injurious and aggressive/destructive behaviours after the MBI. Stereotyped behaviour did not show significant change. Results suggest that the MindfulTEA program could effectively reduce some types of behaviour problems in people with ASD and intellectual disability. MBIs could be a useful alternative to traditional behaviour management interventions for reducing behaviour problems in this population.

ACT-based stress management training aimed at improving workers' mental health in an Intensive Care Unit: a mixed methods study1 / Entrenamiento en el manejo del estrés laboral basado en TAC dirigido a la mejora de la salud mental de trabajadores de una UCI médica: un estudio con método mixto

This study aimed to explore whether an acceptance and commitment (ACT) approach to stress management training improved the levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among a group of twenty-two health professionals from an intensive care unit. Questionnaires were administered before and after training, and follow-up was carried out one month after training, including semi-structured interviews with nine participants. The results reflected that the quasi-experimental group reduced their depression and stress levels significantly and showed improvements in stress in the follow-up. A qualitative thematic analysis of interviews showed that nurses were seeking a tool that would help them to cope more effectively with stressful situations and increase their knowledge of stress management. The themes in the professionals' comments claimed specific improvements in their health, well-being, relationships, and psychological processes. In conclusion, ACT-based trainings offer a possible framework for mental health promotion in health care organizations. (AU)

Este estudio tiene como objetivo explorar si un enfoque de aceptación y compromiso (TAC) para el entrenamiento en el manejo del estrés mejora los niveles de depresión, ansiedad y estrés en un grupo de 22 profesionales de la salud de una unidad de cuidados intensivos. Los cuestionarios se administraron antes y después del entrenamiento y el seguimiento se llevó a cabo un mes después del mismo, incluyendo entrevistas semiestructuradas con 9 de los participantes. Los resultados reflejaron que el grupo cuasiexperimental redujo sus niveles de depresión y estrés significativamente y mejoró el estrés durante el seguimiento. Un análisis temático cualitativo de las entrevistas mostró que los profesionales de enfermería buscaban una herramienta que les ayudara a hacer frente más eficazmente a las situaciones de estrés aumentando el conocimiento en su manejo. Los comentarios de los profesionales reflejaban mejoras específicas en su salud, bienestar, relaciones y procesos psicológicos. En conclusión, los entrenamientos basados en TAC ofrecen un posible marco para mejorar la salud mental en las organizaciones de atención médica. (AU)

Selective Inhibitory Control in Middle Childhood.

The main aim of this study was to investigate the development of selective inhibitory control in middle childhood, a critical period for the maturation of inhibition-related processes. To this end, 64 children aged 6-7 and 56 children aged 10-11 performed a stimulus-selective stop-signal task, which allowed us to estimate not only the efficiency of response inhibition (the stop-signal reaction time or SSRT), but also the strategy adopted by participants to achieve task demands. We found that the adoption of a non-selective (global) strategy characterized by stopping indiscriminately to all stimuli decreased in older children, so that most of them were able to interrupt their ongoing responses selectively at the end of middle childhood. Moreover, compared to younger children, older children were more efficient in their ability to cancel an initiated response (indexed by a shorter SSRT), regardless of which strategy they used. Additionally, we found improvements in other forms of impulsivity, such as the control of premature responding (waiting impulsivity), and attentional-related processes, such as intra-individual variability and distractibility. The present results suggest that middle childhood represents a milestone in the development of crucial aspects of inhibitory control, including selective stopping.

Long-term effectiveness of a mindfulness based intervention (MBI) program for stuttering: a case study / La eficacia a largo plazo de un programa de intervención basada en la atención plena (MBI) para la tartamudez: un estudio de caso

A mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) to address emotional factors that may negatively impact the fluency of the subjects was implemented. A MBI consisting of 5 weekly 2-h sessions was designed and applied to two stuttering cases. The goals were to lower stuttering and to reduce anxiety through the acquisition of mindfulness skills. Participants were asked to video-record a speaking task and to fill out anxiety and mindfulness skills self-reports pre and post-intervention. Both participants diminished stuttering error rates from severe (participant 1) and moderate (participant 2) to mild. Participant 2, who showed high pre-treatment anxiety, showed a significant reduction. A year-follow-up revealed that therapeutic gains in anxiety, mindfulness skills, and stuttering were successfully maintained in both participants. This is the first study focused on emotional aspects of stuttering showing long-term improvements through a MBI. MBI programs could serve as a promising complement for stuttering treatments. (AU)

Se utilizó una intervención basada en mindfulness (MBI) para abordar los factores emocionales que pueden afectar negativamente a la fluidez de los sujetos a través de un estudio de caso. Se diseñó un MBI que constaba de 5 sesiones semanales de 2 horas y se aplicó a dos casos de tartamudez. Los objetivos eran dismunuir la tartamudez y reducir los síntomas de ansiedad mediante la adquisición de habilidades de atención plena. Se pidió a los participantes que grabaran en video una tarea oral y que cumplimentaran los autoinformes de ansiedad y de habilidades de atención plena antes y después de la intervención. En ambos participantes disminuyó el índice de errores de tartamudeo de grave (participante 1) y moderado (participante 2) a leve. El participante 2, que mostró una elevada ansiedad previa al tratamiento, mostró una reducción significativa. Al año de seguimiento los beneficios terapéuticos en ansiedad, habilidades de atención plena y tartamudeo se mantuvieron con éxito en ambos participantes. Se trata del primer estudio centrado en los aspectos emocionales de la tartamudez que muestra mejoras a largo plazo a través de un MBI. Por lo tanto, los programas MBI podrían servir como complemento prometedor a los tratamientos de tartamudez. (AU)

Spanish validation of the short-form of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire (AFQ-Y8) with children and adolescents.

The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth-Short Form (AFQ-Y8) was designed to measure psychological inflexibility in children and adolescents. However, it has not yet been validated to the Spanish population. The present study examines the factorial structure, internal consistency, convergent and incremental validity, and measurement invariance between children and adolescents, male and female, and male and female across age of the AFQ-Y8 with 982 students from Spain (children = 459, adolescents = 523). The results confirmed, in both children and adolescents, a unifactorial structure of general psychological inflexibility. AFQ-Y8 was positively related to negative psychological health outcomes, and negatively related to positive psychological health outcomes and acceptance-related skills, such as mindfulness. In addition, psychological inflexibility showed incremental validity in the explanation of negative psychological health over mindfulness. Measurement invariance across age and gender groups was supported, suggesting that the scores in the AFQ-Y8 are comparable between children and adolescents, and between males and females. In conclusion, results show that the Spanish version of the AFQ-Y8 is a reliable and valid measure of psychological inflexibility in children and adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

A Psychometric Review and Conceptual Replication Study of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire Latent Structure.

The Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) is a popular tool in mindfulness research. However, its psychometric qualities and its replicability have caused controversy. This study carried out a psychometric review and a conceptual replication of the FFMQ latent structure. The review showed that previous validation studies of the FFMQ used nonoptimal methods. In addition, this conceptual replication study tested the structure of the FFMQ using frequentist and Bayesian techniques. The original structure did not provide a good fit with both techniques, while the proposed alternative provided mixed results. We also found systematic fit improvements in both techniques when the Observe facet was excluded and method factors were included. With these findings, we conclude that the conceptual replication of the FFMQ's structure failed. Alternatively, we propose a new provisional FFMQ model with a set of recommendations regarding its application. Future research proposals on improving techniques and models toward mindfulness assessment are also presented and discussed.

Detecting and Reducing Biases in Cellular-Based Mobility Data Sets.

Correctly estimating the features characterizing human mobility from mobile phone traces is a key factor to improve the performance of mobile networks, as well as for mobility model design and urban planning. Most related works found their conclusions on location data based on the cells where each user sends or receives calls or messages, data known as Call Detail Records (CDRs). In this work, we test if such data sets provide enough detail on users' movements so as to accurately estimate some of the most studied mobility features. We perform the analysis using two different data sets, comparing CDRs with respect to an alternative data collection approach. Furthermore, we propose three filtering techniques to reduce the biases detected in the fraction of visits per cell, entropy and entropy rate distributions, and predictability. The analysis highlights the need for contextualizing mobility results with respect to the data used, since the conclusions are biased by the mobile phone traces collection approach.

Mindfulness Integrative Model (MIM): Cultivating positive states of mind towards oneself and the others through mindfulness and self-compassion / Modelo Integrador de Mindfulness (MIM): El cultivo de los estados mentales positivos hacia uno mismo y los demás a través del mindfulness y la autocompasión

There are more and more studies showing the effectiveness of Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) in well-being. However, there are few studies that explore the mechanisms underlying this effect. The aim of this study is to present and validate the Integrative Model of Mindfulness (MIM). MIM main hypothesis is that mindfulness practice leads to an increment in mindfulness trait, which leads to an increase of selfcompassion, and these in turn, lead to increase positive mental states towards others and oneself. A MBI intensive three-week with nonrandomized controlled group was designed. Participants (N = 87) were differentiated by meditation experience as well. The results show large effect sizes regarding the effect of MBI on mindfulness trait, self-compassion and positive mental states to oneself and to others. The data support the MIM, indicating that the practice of mindfulness meditation leads in a sequentially way to the cultivation of mindfulness and self-compassion, which subsequently appears to lead to the development of positive mental states towards others and oneself

Cada vez son más los estudios que muestran la eficacia de las Intervenciones Basadas en Mindfulness (MBIs) para el cultivo del bienestar. Sin embargo, son escasos los estudios que indagan en los mecanismos que explican su funcionamiento. El objetivo del presente estudio es presentar y validar el Modelo Integrador de Mindfulness (MIM), que plantea como principal hipótesis que los incrementos en mindfulness rasgo mediante la práctica de la meditación mindfulness lleva a incrementos en autocompasión, y éstos, a su vez, dirigen al incremento de los estados mentales positivos hacia los demás y hacia uno mismo. Se diseñó una MBI de práctica intensiva de tres semanas de duración con grupo control no aleatorizado. Para el análisis se dividió a la muestra en función de la experiencia previa en meditación. Los resultados muestran tamaños del efecto grandes para el efecto de la MBI sobre mindfulness rasgo, autocompasión y los estados mentales positivos hacia uno mismo y hacia los demás. Los datos respaldan a su vez el MIM, indicando que la práctica de la meditación mindfulness lleva al cultivo de mindfulness y autocompasión secuencialmente, lo que posteriormente parece llevar al desarrollo de estados mentales positivos hacia los demás y hacia uno mismo

A Bandwidth-Efficient Dissemination Scheme of Non-Safety Information in Urban VANETs.

The recent release of standards for vehicular communications will hasten the development of smart cities in the following years. Many applications for vehicular networks, such as blocked road warnings or advertising, will require multi-hop dissemination of information to all vehicles in a region of interest. However, these networks present special features and difficulties that may require special measures. The dissemination of information may cause broadcast storms. Urban scenarios are especially sensitive to broadcast storms because of the high density of vehicles in downtown areas. They also present numerous crossroads and signal blocking due to buildings, which make dissemination more difficult than in open, almost straight interurban roadways. In this article, we discuss several options to avoid the broadcast storm problem while trying to achieve the maximum coverage of the region of interest. Specifically, we evaluate through simulations different ways to detect and take advantage of intersections and a strategy based on store-carry-forward to overcome short disconnections between groups of vehicles. Our conclusions are varied, and we propose two different solutions, depending on the requirements of the application.

A bandwidth-efficient service for local information dissemination in sparse to dense roadways.

Thanks to the research on Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs), we will be able to deploy applications on roadways that will contribute to energy efficiency through a better planning of long trips. With this goal in mind, we have designed a gas/charging station advertising system, which takes advantage of the broadcast nature of the network. We have found that reducing the number of total sent packets is important, as it allows for a better use of the available bandwidth. We have designed improvements for a distance-based flooding scheme, so that it can support the advertising application with good results in sparse to dense roadway scenarios.

Study of LZ-based location prediction and its application to transportation recommender systems.

Predicting users' next location allows to anticipate their future context, thus providing additional time to be ready for that context and react consequently. This work is focused on a set of LZ-based algorithms (LZ, LeZi Update and Active LeZi) capable of learning mobility patterns and estimating the next location with low resource needs, which makes it possible to execute them on mobile devices. The original algorithms have been divided into two phases, thus being possible to mix them and check which combination is the best one to obtain better prediction accuracy or lower resource consumption. To make such comparisons, a set of GSM-based mobility traces of 95 different users is considered. Finally, a prototype for mobile devices that integrates the predictors in a public transportation recommender system is described in order to show an example of how to take advantage of location prediction in an ubiquitous computing environment.