Table 1.
Descriptive table of the studies included in the meta-analysis
| First author (year) | N | Type of meditation | Type of control | Study design | Blinding | Length of the study (weeks) | Age range | Meditation_Mean age (SD) | Control_mean age (SD) | Percentage of subjects treated with medication |
| Studies in children/adolescents | ||||||||||
| Gershy et al 15 | 57 | Mindfulness and non-violent resistance parent training | Non-violent resistance parent training | Parallel | NS | 0 | 6–15 | – | – | Not reported |
| Haffner et al 19 | 20 | Yoga | Conventional motor exercise | Crossover | NS | 8 | 8–11 | 9.78 (0.83) | 9.36 (0.81) | Meditation=55.56 Control=27.27 |
| Jensen et al 20 | 14 | Yoga | Cooperative activities | Crossover | NS | 20 | 8–13 | Total=85.71 | ||
| Kiani et al 16 | 30 | Mindfulness meditation training | Waiting list | Parallel | NS | 8 | 13–15 | 13.17 (0.35) | 13.42 (0.73) | Meditation=0 Control=0 |
| Kim et al 17 | 20 | Yoga | Waiting list | Parallel | NS | 4 | 7–17 | 12.90 (1.79) | 13.00 (48) | Not reported |
| Lo et al 21 | 100 | Family-based mindfulness intervention | Waiting list | Parallel | NS | 6 | 5–7 | 6.24 (0.87) | 5.92 (0.70) | Not reported |
| Sidhu et al 18 | 29 | Mindfulness training | Puzzle/Lego wood block stacking games | Parallel | NS | 4 | 8–12 | 10.20 (1.37) | 10.71 (1.44) | Meditation=26.7; Control=21.4 |
| Studies in adults | ||||||||||
| Fleming et al 24 | 33 | Dialectical behaviour therapy | Self-guided skills handouts | Parallel | Single blind | 8 | 18–24 | 21.20 (1.67) | 21.50 (1.12) | Meditation=70.6 Control=81.2 |
| Gu et al 23 | 54 | MBCT | Waiting list | Parallel | Single blind | 6 | 19–24 | 20.21 (1.03) | 20.38 (1.02) | Meditation=71.43 Control=76.92 |
| Hoxhaj et al 25 | 81* | Mindfulness training | Psychoeducation | Parallel | Single blind | 8 | – | 40.51 (9.48) | 38.50 (11.83) | Meditation=0 Control=0 |
| Janssen et al 22 | 120† | MBCT | Waiting list | Parallel | Single blind | 8 | – | 39.7 (11.1) | 39.0 (10.1) | Meditation=60 Control=48 |
| Mitchell et al 26 | 20 | Group-based mindfulness treatment | Waiting list | Parallel | Open label | 8 | – | 40.55 (6.83) | 36.22 (6.92) | Meditation=54.5 Control=55.6 |
| Pettersson et al 27 | 31 | Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy, self-format (S) | Waiting list | Parallel | Single blind | 10 | – | 38.92 (8.50) | 33.78 (10.07) | Meditation=53.8 Control=50.0 |
*Data on working memory came from Bachmann (2018) on 40 subjects only.
†For data on inhibition and working memory refer to 103 subjects only from Hepark (2015).
MBCT, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy; NS, not specified.