The Mindful Classroom: Teaching Mindfulness Meditation to Promote

Adolescent Self-Regulation

Ryan Erbe, MS

PhD Student/Associate Instructor

Indiana University

Learning Objectives

Describe the facets and importance of self-regulation

Identify research findings demonstrating the ability of Mindfulness Meditation (MM) to promote self-regulation in adolescents

Demonstrate a variety of MM practices

Identify valid resources for implementing MM in schools

Successful Living

What trait, according to research, is the most important for young people to have in order to live a healthy and successful life?

A. Family Background

B. SES

C. Grit

D. Resilience

E. Self-control

According to Research….....

While we could make an argument for each trait, research has demonstrated that self-control is critical for success in life.

“Self-control is probably the single most important trait to have for success in life. There have been hundreds and hundreds of studies showing that kids with strong self-control do better in school, have better relationships, are less likely to develop emotional problems, their less likely to get into trouble. People with poor self-control show the opposite pattern.”

Laurence Steinberg, PhD ‘Age of Opportunity’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMkjg2ojPmc

Self-Regulation: Definition

The ability to flexibly activate, monitor, inhibit, persevere and/or adapt one’s behavior, attention, and cognitive strategies in response to direction from internal cues, environmental stimuli and feedback from others, in an attempt to attain personally relevant goals (Moilanen, 2007)

In developmental psychology, self-regulation is defined as the ability to control thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (Posner & Rothbart, 2007)

Self-Regulation: Components

Self-Regulation

Emotion Regulation

Cognitive Control

(Attention)

Self-Regulation: Health and School

Health

Self Regulation is an important factor that may help prevent young people from engaging in high risk behavior or help them avoid the consequences of risk behavior (Moilanen, 2007)

Specifically, self-regulation has been associated with increased ability to control substance use and sexual behavior (Wills et al, 2002; Rafaelli & Crockett, 2003)

Academics

Self-regulation plays a key role in learning and produces higher academic achievement according to a range of measures (Zimmerman, 2000a; Zimmerman, 200b)

Students who lack self-regulation underperform academically, and are more likely to exhibit problem behavior in school (Wulfert et al, 2002)

Self-Regulation Studies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT9otL6pxKQ

Self-Regulation: The ACC

The Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) is a nexus of both information processing and regulation in the brain (Margulies et al 2007)

The ACC is at the center of the brain’s self-regulatory system, integrating inputs from diverse sources in order to regulate responses and guide behavior (Kelly et al, 2009)

Functional connectivity between the ACC and other regions of the brain develops over time (Kelly et al, 2009)

Margulies et al, 2007; Kelly et al, 2009

What is (Mindfulness) Meditation?

“There are many types of meditation, but most have four elements in common: a quiet location with as few distractions as possible; a specific, comfortable posture (sitting, lying down, walking, or in other positions); a focus of attention (the present moment); and an open attitude (letting distractions come and go naturally without judging them).” National Center for Complementary and Integrative

Health (NCCIH)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHILscdegL8

MM and Adolescents: Attention Outcomes Authors Participants Type/Design Outcomes

Bogels et al, 2008

14 youth with ADHD (14.4 yrs)

•Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy •Pre and post-test

•Self-report attention improved •Improvement on objective attention testing

Weijer-Bergsma et al, 2011

8 youth with ADHD (13.4 years)

•Mindfulness Meditation •Pre and post-test

•Post training adolescents’ externalizing, internalizing and attention problems reduced, and executive functioning improved on self-report •Improvements on computerized attention tests confirmed reported results

Zoogman et al, 2014

Youth under 18 years of age

•Meta-analysis of 20 Mindfulness Meditation studies

•Overall Effect size was statistically significant indicating mindfulness condition showed greater improvement on outcome measures than active control conditions. •For mindfulness and attention measures meditation programs demonstrated significant improvements

MM and Adolescents: Emotion Regulation Outcomes

Authors Participants Type/Design Outcomes Broderick & Metz, 2009

Entire senior class of an all girls school (N=105 treatment group, N=17 control group, 17.4 yrs)

•Learning to Breathe Curriculum (Mindfulness) •Pre and post-test

•Experimental group significantly reduced their Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) score •Significant reduction in negative affect according to Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)

Metz et al, 2013 •Two high schools in Philadelphia (N=129 treatment group, N=87control group, 16.5 yrs)

•Learning to Breathe Curriculum (Mindfulness) •Pre and post-test with

•Mindfulness group significantly reduced DERS score •Program participants demonstrated an improvement in the overall self-regulation efficacy as measured by the Affective Self-Regulatory Efficacy Scale (ASRES)

Schonert-Reichl & Lawlor, 2010

A total of 6 program classrooms (N=139 treatment group, N=107 control, 11.43 yrs)

•Mindfulness in Education Program •Pre and post-test

•Teachers in intervention rated students as significantly more attentive, emotionally regulated than did control teachers •Program group demonstrated a positive statistical trend for positive affect

Barnert et al, 2014

Incarcerated males (N=29, 16.3 yrs)

•10-week meditation program and a 1-day meditation retreat •Pre-post test, mixed methods

•Post-treatment, all participants increased their self-regulation, specifically regulation of emotion •Qualitative interviews revealed a theme of increased self-discipline as a result of the intervention

Authors Participants Type/Design Outcomes

Tang et al, 2010

45 American undergraduate students (22 experimental group, 23 control group, 20.58 yrs)

•IMBT 30 min/day 1 month vs. RT •RCT, Pre and Posttest •Used Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)

• Fractional Anisotropy (FA) increases (largest) in the left anterior corona radiata (a key node of the self-regulation network in ACC) indicating white matter changes in this region due to IBMT

Tang et al, 2012

68 Chinese undergraduate students (34 experimental group, 34 control group, 20.52 yrs)

•IMBT 30 min/day 2 weeks vs. RT •RCT, Pre and Posttest •Used Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)

• The previous study found that FA increased (anterior corona radiata) and involved simultaneous decreases of Axial Density and Radial Density (Tang et al 2010) •In the current study a significant decrease in AD was found in the corpus callosum, corona radiata, superior longitudinal fasciculus, posterior thalamtic radiation, and sagittal stratum

Xue et al, 2011

32 Chinese undergraduate students (15 experimental group, 17 control group, 21.44 yrs)

•IMBT 30 min/day 1 month vs. RT •RCT, Pre and Posttest •Used Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)

•After 1 month of training, nodal efficiency showed a significant increase in left ACC after IBMT but not RT •The left ACC had a greater nodal degree value after IBMT

Tang et al, 2015

40 Chinese undergraduate students (20 experimental group, 20 control group, 22.75 yrs)

•IMBT 30 min/day 5 days vs. RT •RCT, Pre and Posttest •fMRI and PANAS

•IBMT showed significantly better scores on PANAS •IBMT group had significantly more cerbral blood flow (CBF) to subgenual/adjacent ACC, MPFC, and insula

MM and Adolescents: Neuro-imaging Studies

White Matter Changes

Tang et al, 2010

So What?!?!

Health Education, given its emphasis on promoting healthy decision-making and practicing health-enhancing behaviors (National Health Education Standards 5 and 7), could be an ideal context for MM practice in a school setting.

Through helping students learn and practice MM in health education, we not only help them acquire self-regulation skills, but also the capacity to self-regulate.

Let’s Get Practical Teach students different types of MM

Movement and MM is a great place to start!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYrUqlwE6n8

Focused attention brain breaks!

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/brain-breaks-focused-attention-practices-lori-desautels

Create a MM unit

Allow students to create their own MM experience (see handout)

Resources

Apps: Headspace and Calm

Websites: http://www.pixelthoughts.co/ ; http://www.mindfulschools.org/ ; https://www.davidlynchfoundation.org/schools.html

Books for Students: ‘The Mindful Teen’ by Dzung X. Vo, MD

Books for Teachers: Learning to BREATHE’ by Patricia Broderick, PhD, ‘Brainstorm’ by Dan Siegel, MD, and ‘Age of Opportunity’ by Laurence Steinberg, PhD

Post-Assessment 1

Self-regulation is an important trait for students to develop because:

A. It helps students avoid risks

B. Leads to better academic and career outcomes

C. Promotes healthy relationships

D. All of the above

E. None of the above

Post-Assessment 2

MM includes all of the following components except:

A. A quiet location

B. An uncomfortable posture

C. A focus of attention

D. An open non-judgmental attitude towards distractions

Post-Assessment 3

Health educators can incorporate MM into their classrooms by using each of the following except:

A. A curricula such as Learning to BREATHE

B. MM brain breaks

C. Movement and MM

D. A religious based curriculum

Questions?

Contact Information:

rgerbe20@gmail.com

Happy trails everyone! Hope you enjoyed my dad’s presentation! Thanks for joining!

References Barnert, E. S., Himelstein, S., Herbert, S., Garcia-Romeu, A., & Chamberlain, L. J. (2014).

Innovations in practice: Exploring an intensive meditation intervention for incarcerated youth. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 19(1), 69-73. doi:10.1111/camh.12019

Bogels, S., Hoogstad, B., van Dun, L., de Schutter, S., & Restifo, K. (2008). Mindfulness training for adolescents with externalizing disorders and their parents. Behavioural and Congnitive Psychotherapy, 36, 193-209.

Broderick, P. C., & Metz, S. (2009). Learning to BREATHE: A pilot Trial of a mindfulness curriculum for adolescents. Advances in School Mental Health Promotion, 2(1), 35-46.

Kelly, A., Di Martino, A., Uddin, L. Q., Shehzad, Z., Gee, D. G., Reiss, P. T., . . . Milham, M. P. (2009). Development of anterior cingulate funtional connectivity from late childhood to early adulthood. Cerebral Cortex, 19(3), 640-657. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhn117

Margulies, D. S., Kelly, A., Uddin, L. Q., Biswal, B. B., Castellanos, F. X., & Milham, M. P. (2007). Mapping the functional connectivity of anterior cingulate cortex. NeuroImage, 37, 579-588.

Metz, S. M., Frank, J. L., Reibel, D., Cantrell, T., Sanders, R., & Broderick, P. C. (2013). The effectiveness of the Learning to BREATHE program on adolescent emotion regulation. Research in Human Development, 10(3), 252-272. doi:10.1080/15427609.2013.818488

Moilanen, K. L. (2007). The adolescent self-regulatory inventory: The development and validation of a questionnaire of short-term and long-term self-regulation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 835-848. doi:10.1007/s10964-006-9107-9

References Posner, M. I., Rothbart, M. K., & Sheese, B. E. (2007). The anterior cingulate

gyrus and the mechanism of self-regulation. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 7(4), 391-395.

Raffaelli, M., & Crockett, L. J. (2003). Sexual risk taking in adolescence: The role of self-regulation and attaction to risk. Developmental Psychology, 39(6), 1036-1046. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.39.6.1036

Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Lawlor, M. S. (2010). The effects of a mindfulness-based education program on pre- and early adolescents’ well-being and social and emotional competence. Mindfulness. doi:DOI 10.1007/s12671-010-0011-8

Steinberg, L. (2014). Age of Oppportunity. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Tang, Y.-Y., Lu, Q., Fan, M., Yang, Y., & Posner, M. I. (2012). Mechanisms of white matter changes induced by meditation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(26), 10570-10574.

Tang, Y.-Y., Lu, Q., Feng, H., Tang, R., & Posner, M. I. (2015). Short-term meditation increases blood flow in anterior cingulate cortex and insula. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1-4. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00212

Tang, Y.-Y., Lu, Q., Geng, X., Stein, E. A., Yang, Y., & Posner, M. I. (2010). Short-term meditation induces white matter changes in the anterior cingulate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(35), 15649-15652.

References Weijer-Bergsma, E. v. d., Formsma, A. R., Bruin, E. I. d., & Bogels, S. M.

(2011). The effectiveness of mindfulness training on behavioral problems and attentional functioning in adolescents with ADHD. Journal of Child and Family Studies. doi:DOI 10.1007/s10826-011-9531-7

Wills, T. A., Sandy, J. M., & Yaeger, A. M. (2002). Moderators of the relation between substance use level and problems: Test of a self-regulation model in middle adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111(1), 3-21. doi:10.1037//0021-843X.111.1.3

Wulfert, E., Block, J. A., SantaAna, E., Rodriguez, M. L., & Colsman, M. (2002). Delay of gratification: Impulsive choices and problem behaviors in early and late adolescence. Journal of Personality, 70(4), 533-552.

Xue, S., Tang, Y.-Y., & Posner, M. I. (2011). Short-term meditation increases network efficiency of the anterior cingulate cortex. NeuroReport, 22, 570-574. doi:10.1097/WNR.0b013e328348c750

Zimmerman, B. J. (2000a). Attaining self-regulation: A social-cognitive perspective. In M. Boekaerts, P. Pintrich, & Z. M (Eds.), Handbook of Self-Regulation (pp. 13-39). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Zimmerman, B. J. (2000b). Self-efficacy: An essential motive to learn. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 82-91.

Zoogman, S., Goldberg, S. B., Hoyt, W. T., & Miller, L. (2014). Mindfulness interventions with youth: A meta-analysis. Mindfulness. doi:DOI 10.1007/s12671-013-0260-4