Impact of a Mindfulness-based Intervention on Well-being and Mental Health of Elementary School Children

Primary outcomes

1. Symptoms of Mental Health Disorders

   Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (10 weeks)

   Children completed selected items from the self-report version of the anxiety (three items, e.g., "I worry about little things"), depression (five items, e.g., "Nothing ever goes right for me") and inattention (4 items, e.g., " I forget to do things") subscales of the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children (BASC II)

2. Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction

   Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (10 weeks)

   Participants rated how competent, autonomous, and related they felt in school, by answering a nine-item scale adapted from a scale used in a previous, similar study [57]. Children were asked to rate their agreement with items such as "In school, I feel free to be myself" (autonomy); "I am able to reach my goals" (competence) and "In my relationship with others, I feel appreciated" (relatedness) on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always).

3. Process Measure

   Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (10 weeks)

   Finally, participants completed the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale for Children (e.g., "I find it hard to stay focused on what's happening in the present moment."; [58]) to evaluate pre-to-post changes in their mindfulness abilities. They rated their agreement with each item on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 6 (almost always). A higher score on this scale indicates lower levels of mindfulness.