Mindfulness-based stress reduction for elementary school teachers:a randomized controlled trial

Educators frequently grapple with elevated levels of job-related stress, heightening the risk of mental health issues. Although Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing stress among the general populace, its implementation among educators, especially in non-United States settings, has received limited exploration. This pre-registered randomized-controlled trial investigates the effectiveness of the standard MBSR in reducing perceived stress among Dutch elementary school teachers. Additionally, it examines the impact of MBSR on mindfulness skills, emotion regulation, and self-compassion as secondary proximal outcomes, along with exploring its influence on teacher self-efficacy, perceived pupil-teacher relationships, and classroom climate quality as secondary distal outcomes. Involving 146 teachers randomly assigned to either the intervention (n = 72) or waitlist-control condition (n = 74), assessments were conducted pre- and post-intervention or control period, with a 3-month follow-up. Participants in the intervention reported significantly lower perceived stress compared to the control group, demonstrating a substantial effect size at post-treatment (d = −0.84) and a moderate effect at follow-up (d = −0.69). MBSR not only yielded improvements in personal well-being but also positively impacted teacher self-efficacy and classroom climate quality at both post-treatment and follow-up. These positive outcomes aligned with enhancements in mindfulness skills, emotion regulation, and self-compassion. However, no significant effects were observed on the pupil-teacher relationship. Exploratory analyses revealed no moderation effects based on past or present psychological problems, school weight/pupil population, years of experience, or age on perceived stress at post-measurement. Furthermore, the study examined the potential influence of COVID-19 on the results, concluding that the pandemic had no discernible impact. These findings advocate for the widespread adoption of the standard MBSR program as a means of enhancing the well-being of elementary school teachers.</p

Mindfulness-based stress reduction for elementary school teachers: a randomized controlled trial

Educators frequently grapple with elevated levels of job-related stress, heightening the risk of mental health issues. Although Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing stress among the general populace, its implementation among educators, especially in non-United States settings, has received limited exploration. This pre-registered randomized-controlled trial investigates the effectiveness of the standard MBSR in reducing perceived stress among Dutch elementary school teachers. Additionally, it examines the impact of MBSR on mindfulness skills, emotion regulation, and self-compassion as secondary proximal outcomes, along with exploring its influence on teacher self-efficacy, perceived pupil-teacher relationships, and classroom climate quality as secondary distal outcomes. Involving 146 teachers randomly assigned to either the intervention (n = 72) or waitlist-control condition (n = 74), assessments were conducted pre- and post-intervention or control period, with a 3-month follow-up. Participants in the intervention reported significantly lower perceived stress compared to the control group, demonstrating a substantial effect size at post-treatment (d = −0.84) and a moderate effect at follow-up (d = −0.69). MBSR not only yielded improvements in personal well-being but also positively impacted teacher self-efficacy and classroom climate quality at both post-treatment and follow-up. These positive outcomes aligned with enhancements in mindfulness skills, emotion regulation, and self-compassion. However, no significant effects were observed on the pupil-teacher relationship. Exploratory analyses revealed no moderation effects based on past or present psychological problems, school weight/pupil population, years of experience, or age on perceived stress at post-measurement. Furthermore, the study examined the potential influence of COVID-19 on the results, concluding that the pandemic had no discernible impact. These findings advocate for the widespread adoption of the standard MBSR program as a means of enhancing the well-being of elementary school teachers

The Longitudinal Interplay Between Attention Bias and Interpretation Bias in Social Anxiety in Adolescents

Background: Cognitive biases are found to play a role in the onset and maintenance of social anxiety. However, particularly in adolescence, the link between different biases and their role in predicting social anxiety is far from clear. This study therefore investigated the interplay between attention bias and interpretation bias in relation to social anxiety in adolescence across three years. Methods: 816 adolescents in grade 7 to 9 participated at three yearly waves (52.8% boys, Mage grade7 = 12.60). Social anxiety was measured with a self-report questionnaire. Attention bias was measured with a visual search task with emotional faces. Textual vignettes assessed interpretation bias. Results: Cross-lagged models showed that negative interpretation bias at grade 7 predicted an increase in social anxiety at grade 8. This effect was not found from grade 8 to 9. Attention bias did not predict social anxiety. Attention bias and interpretation bias were not longitudinally related to each other, nor did they interact with each other in predicting social anxiety. Conclusions: Thus, no evidence was found for the Combined Cognitive Bias Hypothesis in social anxiety in adolescents. Instead, our results suggest that interpretation bias rather than attention bias contributes to the increase of social anxiety over time

The Longitudinal Interplay Between Attention Bias and Interpretation Bias in Social Anxiety in Adolescents

Background: Cognitive biases are found to play a role in the onset and maintenance of social anxiety. However, particularly in adolescence, the link between different biases and their role in predicting social anxiety is far from clear. This study therefore investigated the interplay between attention bias and interpretation bias in relation to social anxiety in adolescence across three years. Methods: 816 adolescents in grade 7 to 9 participated at three yearly waves (52.8% boys, Mage grade7 = 12.60). Social anxiety was measured with a self-report questionnaire. Attention bias was measured with a visual search task with emotional faces. Textual vignettes assessed interpretation bias. Results: Cross-lagged models showed that negative interpretation bias at grade 7 predicted an increase in social anxiety at grade 8. This effect was not found from grade 8 to 9. Attention bias did not predict social anxiety. Attention bias and interpretation bias were not longitudinally related to each other, nor did they interact with each other in predicting social anxiety. Conclusions: Thus, no evidence was found for the Combined Cognitive Bias Hypothesis in social anxiety in adolescents. Instead, our results suggest that interpretation bias rather than attention bias contributes to the increase of social anxiety over time