Poster #37 - Reducing Anxiety at School: The Effects of a Mindfulness-based and Yoga Intervention for School-age Children

• In Event: Poster Session 13

Abstract

Research has indicated that the incidence of anxiety and depression among children ages 3-17 years have increased in recent years (Lebrun-Harris et al., 2022). One promising, affordable, and non-pharmaceutical approach to improving mental health outcomes is the use of Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBIs), which have been shown to reduce anxiety in children (Odgers et al., 2020). The practice of yoga, including breathing exercises, poses, and stretches, also has been linked to mild reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms in children and adolescents (James-Palmer et al., 2020); however, there remains a need for further research to more fully explore how mindfulness training and yoga might positively impact children in schools. Thus, the present study examined the effectiveness of MBIs and yoga for children in reducing anxiety.

Participants included 60 children ages 5 to 12 years (Mgirls = 9.00 years, SD = 1.82; (Mboys= 8.77 years, SD =1.62) who participated in daily MBIs during their homeroom along with 3 sessions of yoga during physical education classes at school. The majority of the sample was White (91.4%), and approximately half (53%) were Hispanic. Most came from average income families (Mhousehold income = $50,000-70,000 per year) with most (89.4%) of the reporting parents having minimally earned a bachelor’s degree.
Participants’ self-reports of anxiety were measured before and after engaging in three video-led sessions of yoga conducted over a 3-week period. The videos were created by a certified yoga instructor who demonstrated various stretching poses geared towards children, with accompanying instructions about breathing. Homeroom teachers also facilitated breathing exercises in the classroom to offer further applications of calming techniques. To measure anxiety, children reported the frequency of experiencing basic symptoms listed on the General Anxiety subtest of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS; Kechter & Leventhal, 2018). A sample item was “I worry about things” with response options falling on a 4-point Likert scale from 0 = never, 1= sometimes, 3 = often, to 4 = always.

The mean responses of participants’ self-reports of anxiety at pre-test were compared to participants’ self-reports of anxiety at post-test using a paired samples t-test. This revealed that the mean of post-test reports of anxiety (M = 2.07, SD .67) was significantly lower than the mean of pre-test anxiety reports (M = 2.26, SD .67), t (50) = 2.62, p <.01. Thus, overall participants reported “worrying less” after yoga sessions. Differences by gender and ethnicity (Hispanic/non-Hispanic) were explored (See Tables 1 and 2), but no significant differences were found.

Findings from the current study provide promising evidence that MBIs and yoga can be used to reduce anxiety in children in the school setting. Findings also suggest that the benefits of yoga can be experienced by both girls and boys and Hispanic/non-Hispanic families alike. Because of this, the present study may serve as the foundation for future research focused on interventions to reduce anxiety in children at school.

Authors

• Amy A Weimer, Texas State University
  Presenting Author

• Miles Cantrell

• Kayci Wheeler, Texas State University

• Mary Claire Boothe

• Jessica Isabel Garcia, Texas State University