Description
Self-compassion and mindfulness are associated with both physical and mental health in adults and older children. The current study extends the literature in the field by testing the efficacy and feasibility of a self-compassion and mindfulness program targeting high-risk preschool aged children to promote self-regulation and reduce behavior and mental health challenges during an age range where self-regulation abilities are actively developing. A randomized controlled trial study design was utilized to test program efficacy. Seventy-one predominantly Latino children who were enrolled in a Head start preschool participated in the current research. Classes were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a waitlist control group. Teachers completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC) for each child in the study both pre and post intervention. ANCOVA was used to examine differences between the intervention and control group after controlling for age and each baseline assessment. Results indicated that the program was successful in significantly reducing several behavior and mental health challenges in the intervention group compared to controls including: attention problems, aggression, emotion reactivity, withdrawal, and sleep problems. This reduction in behavior problems has implications for preventing preschool suspensions and promoting school readiness, and may even help alter the developmental trajectory of challenging behavior and prevent later negative outcomes.
