Table 3.
Study Characteristics Arranged by Intervention Type and Author
| Study | Design | Intervention description | Age (years) | Dropout rate | Outcomes | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bogels et al. (2008) | Quasi-experimental | Children (n = 14) taught mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and parents taught mindful parenting in parallel for 8 weeks with 8-week follow-up Control: waitlist |
11–17 | 35.7% | Personal goals (GAS—parent- and self-report); behavior symptoms (CBCL, D2, YSR, CSBQ, SCRS); QOL (SHS, PedsQL); Mindful awareness (MAAS) | Child and parent GAS ratings improved (p < 0.001). Improvement on YSR (p = 0.001), D2 and SCRS (p < 0.05), happiness (p < 0.05), and mindful awareness (p < 0.05). No changes in CBCL, CSBQ, or QOL. |
| Chan et al. (2013) | RCT | Nei Yang Gong/Dejian (n = 23) for 4 weeks with 2-week follow-up Control: PMR (n = 23) |
6–17 | 13.0% | Self-control (TOL, CCTT, FPT); behavior (ATEC (parent rated); self-control, temper tantrum, and rigid thoughts/act questionnaires) | All self-control measures improved (p < 0.01). All ATEC subscales, except speech/language, improved (p < 0.05). Temper outburst improved (p = 0.026), but not obsessive behavior or verbal expression. |
| de Bruin et al. (2015) | Cohort | Mindfulness training (MYmind), parents (n = 29) and adolescents (n = 23) taught in parallel for 9 weeks with 9-week follow-up Control: none |
11–23 | 9.6% | Rumination (RRS), worry (PSQW), autism symptoms (AQ), QOL (WHO-5); mindfulness (MAAS-A); social responsiveness (SRS—parent rated) | Improvement on RRS (p < 0.05) and WHO-5 (p < 0.05). No changes on PSWQ, AQ, or MAAS-A. SRS score improved at follow-up (p < 0.001), but not immediately post intervention. |
| Hwang et al. (2015) | Cohort | Mindfulness training for 8 weeks. Mothers learned, then taught children (n = 6) at home for 3 weeks with 12 months of practice Control: none |
8–15 | 16.7% | Problem behaviors (CBCL) | Total problems on CBCL decreased after parent mindfulness training (p = 0.046). Child mindfulness training reduced anxiety (p = 0.039) and thought problem (p = 0.043) subscales. |
| Kiep et al. (2014) | Cohort | Mindfulness-based therapy (n = 50) for 9 weeks with 9-week follow-up Control: none |
20–65 | 16.0% | Psychological symptoms (SCL-90-R, RRQ, GMS) | Overall main effect of time (p = 0.027) and for all scales and subscales, except hostility |
| Koenig et al. (2012) | Quasi-experimental | Yoga in school classroom (n = 25) for 16 weeks Control: Usual classroom activity (n = 24) |
5–12 | 2.1% | Behavior (ABC-C—parent and teacher rated) | Decreased ABC-C score for teacher rated (p = 0.029) but not parent rated (p = 0.564) |
| Neece (2013) | RCT | Parents trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction for 8 weeks. Children (n = 19) observed for changes Control: waitlist (n = 16) |
2.5–5 | 0% | Child behavior problems (CBCL) | Improved attention deficit/hyperactivity subscale (p < 0.05), but no other changes |
| Pahnke et al. (2014) | Quasi-experimental (randomized by classroom) | ACT (n = 15)—school setting for 6 weeks with 2-month follow-up Control: waitlist (n = 13) |
13–21 | 0% | Stress (SSS—teacher reported and self-reported); behavior (SDQ—teacher reported and self-reported); psychological distress (BYI) | No differences in self- or teacher-reported SSS or SDQ, or BYI |
| Radhakrishna (2010) | Cohort | Yoga (n = 6) for 10 months Control: none |
8–14 | 0% | Imitation behavior rated on three-point scale (parent report) | Improved imitation behaviors by up to 1.7 points (statistics NR) |
| Radhakrishna et al. (2010) | Quasi-experimental | Yoga (n = 6) for 82 weeks Control: none |
8–14 | 0% | Child behavior (ARI-E-2 checklist, ITB, RSBTB—parent and teacher reports) | Improvements in receptive skills, imitation skills, and self-injurious behavior (statistics NR) |
| Rosenblatt et al. (2011) | Cohort | Combined yoga, dance, music therapy for 8 weeks (n = 33) Control: none |
3–18 | 27.2% | Child behavior (BASC-2, ABC) | Improvement on BASC-2 Behavioral Symptom Index subscale (p = 0.04) but not on other subscales. No change on ABC. |
| Singh et al. (2006) | Multiple baseline | Mindful parenting, mothers (n = 3) trained for 12 weeks with 52 weeks of practice and variable follow-up Control: none |
4–6 | 0% | Aggression, noncompliance, and self-injury behaviors (parent report) | Decreased frequency (statistics NR) |
| Singh, Lancioni, Singh, et al. (2011) | Multiple baseline | Meditation: children (n = 3) taught by mothers, 5 days of training, up to 24 weeks of practice with 4-year follow-up Control: none |
13–18 | 0% | Physical aggression (self-report and sibling/parent report) | Decreased frequency (statistics NR) |
| Singh Lancioni, Manikam, et al. (2011) | Multiple baseline | Meditation: children (n = 3) taught by mothers, 5 days of training, up to 30 weeks of practice, 3-year follow-up Control: none |
14–17 | 0% | Physical aggression (sibling/parent report) | Decreased frequency (statistics NR) |
| Singh et al. (2014) | Multiple baseline | Mindfulness-based positive behavior support: children (n = 3) taught by mothers, 8 weeks of training, up to 37 weeks of practice Control: none |
15–19 | 0% | Aggression, compliance, disruptive behavior (parent report) | Aggression and disruptive behaviors decreased frequency. Compliance increased frequency (statistics NR). |
| Spek et al. (2013) | RCT | Mindfulness-based therapy (n = 21) for 9 weeks Control: waitlist (n = 21) |
18–65 | 2.3% | Mood, rumination, affect (SCL-90-R, RRQ, GMS) | Improvement for depression (p = 0.02), anxiety (p = 0.02), positive affect (p = 0.02), and rumination (p < 0.001) |
ABC, Aberrant Behavior Checklist; ABC-C, Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community; ACC, Anterior Cingulate Cortex; ACT, Acceptance Commitment Therapy; ARI-E-2 checklist, Autism Research Institute E-2 checklist; AQ, Autism Quotient; ATEC, Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist; BASC-2, Behavioral Assessment System for Children; BYI, Beck Youth Inventories; CBCL, Child Behavior Checklist; CCTT, Children's Color Trails Test; CSBQ, Children's Social Behavior Questionnaire; D2, D2 Test of Attention; FPT, Five Point Test; GAS, Goal Attainment Scale; GMS, Dutch Global Mood Scale; ITB, imitation test battery; MAAS, Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale; MAAS-A, Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale-Adolescent; PedsQL, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory; PMR, progressive muscle relaxation; PSWQ, Penn State Worry Questionnaire; QOL, quality of life; RCT, randomized controlled trial; RRQ, Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire; RRS, Ruminative Response Scale; RSBTB, repetitive stereotyped behavior test battery; SCL-90-R, Symptom Checklist-90-Revised; SCRS, Self-Control Rating Scale; SDQ, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires; SHS, Subjective Happiness Scale; SRS, Social Responsiveness Scale; SSS, Stress Survey Schedule; TOL, Tower of London Test; WHO-5, World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index; YSR, Youth Self Report.