The Effect of Mindfulness Training on 3~4 Years Old Children's Social Behavior

  • MA Ying ,
  • LEI Ying ,
  • AI Yueyue ,
  • XIANG Weiming
Expand
  • Faculty of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710061

Received date: 2022-06-18

  Online published: 2023-05-18

Abstract

To investigate the effect of mindfulness training on young children’s social behavior, this study used a quasi-experimental design to assign 60 children aged 3~4 years to the mindfulness training group and control group. Parents and teachers assessed the children’s social behavior before, after and three months later after the training. The results showed that: 1) In the pre-test, there were no significant differences in the three dimensions of social behavior between the training group and the control group. 2) Post-test and following-up data showed that the dimensions of shy withdrawal and aggressive behavior in the training group were significantly lower than that of the control group, and the level of prosocial behavior was significantly higher than that of the control group. 3) The results of parent evaluation and teacher evaluation were the same. 4) There was no gender difference in the effect of mindfulness training on children’s social behavior. The findings demonstrate that mindfulness training has a positive effect on improving social behavior in children aged 3~4 years, and the effect is stable.

Cite this article

MA Ying , LEI Ying , AI Yueyue , XIANG Weiming . The Effect of Mindfulness Training on 3~4 Years Old Children's Social Behavior[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2023 , 21(2) : 238 -244 . DOI: 10.12139/j.1672-0628.2023.02.013

References

邓赐平. (1998). 幼儿的社会认知、社会适应行为发展及其与家庭环境系统的联系 (硕士学位论文). 华东师范大学, 上海.
贾守梅, 汪玲. (2011). 儿童攻击性行为影响因素研究进展. 中国学校卫生, 32(3), 379–381
金建水, 刘兴华. (2017). 儿童和青少年学生群体的正念教育——正念作为新的心理健康教育方式的探索. 首都师范大学学报(社会科学版), (2), 170–180
李泉, 宋亚男, 廉彬, 冯廷勇. (2019). 正念训练提升3~4岁幼儿注意力和执行功能. 心理学报, 51(3), 324–336
齐亚楠, 杨宁. (2020). 4~5岁留守学前儿童自我概念与社会退缩的关系——心理弹性的中介和调节作用. 学前教育研究, (2), 41–56
孙长玉, 陈晓. (2016). 正念冥想训练对中学生自我控制能力的干预作用. 中国健康心理学杂志, 24(9), 1359–1363
杨伟鹏, 雷雁岚, 陈科成, 洪秀敏. (2014). 社会主题绘本教学促进幼儿亲社会行为发展的实验研究. 教育学报, 10(6), 87–94
张洁婷, 杨翠梅, 吴舒莹, 张境锋, 康武, 迟新丽. (2021). 四周简易正念减压训练对初中生焦虑的影响. 心理与行为研究, 19(1), 104–110
周浩, 龙立荣. (2004). 共同方法偏差的统计检验与控制方法. 心理科学进展, 12(6), 942–950
Berti, S., & Cigala, A. (2022). Mindfulness for preschoolers: Effects on prosocial behavior, self-regulation and perspective taking. Early Education and Development, 33(1), 38–57.
Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., … Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230–241.
Britton, W. B., Shahar, B., Szepsenwol, O., & Jacobs, W. J. (2012). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy improves emotional reactivity to social stress: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Behavior Therapy, 43(2), 365–380.
Burke, C. A. (2010). Mindfulness-based approaches with children and adolescents: A preliminary review of current research in an emergent field. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(2), 133–144.
Cheang, R., Gillions, A., & Sparkes, E. (2019). Do mindfulness-based interventions increase empathy and compassion in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(7), 1765–1779.
Coholic, D., Schwabe, N., & Lander, K. (2020). A scoping review of arts-based mindfulness interventions for children and youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 37(5), 511–526.
Esmaeil-Nezhad, E., Elhami, S., Abadi, A. S., & Rostami, M. (2019). The effectiveness of stress reduction based on mindfulness on students’ education self-concept and shyness. Medical Science, 23(98), 510–522.
Flook, L., Goldberg, S. B., Pinger, L., & Davidson, R. J. (2015). Promoting prosocial behavior and self-regulatory skills in preschool children through a mindfulness-based kindness curriculum. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 44–51.
Goodall, K., Trejnowska, A., & Darling, S. (2012). The relationship between dispositional mindfulness, attachment security and emotion regulation. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(5), 622–626.
Jha, A. P., Morrison, A. B., Parker, S. C., & Stanley, E. A. (2017). Practice is protective: Mindfulness training promotes cognitive resilience in high-stress cohorts. Mindfulness, 8(1), 46–58.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain and illness. New York: Delacorte.
Laundy, K., Friberg, P., Osika, W., & Chen, Y. (2021). Mindfulness-based intervention for children with mental health problems: A 2-year follow-up randomized controlled study. Mindfulness, 12(12), 3073–3085.
Moreno-Gómez, A. J., & Cejudo, J. (2019). Effectiveness of a mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program on psychosocial adjustment and neuropsychological maturity in kindergarten children. Mindfulness, 10(1), 111–121.
Saunders, D., & Kober, H. (2020). Mindfulness-based intervention development for children and adolescents. Mindfulness, 11(8), 1868–1883.
Sciutto, M. J., Veres, D. A., Marinstein, T. L., Bailey, B. F., & Cehelyk, S. K. (2021). Effects of a school-based mindfulness program for young children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30(6), 1516–1527.
Semple, R. J., Lee, J., Rosa, D., & Miller, L. F. (2010). A randomized trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children: Promoting mindful attention to enhance social-emotional resiliency in children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(2), 218–229.
Tao, S. S., Li, J. B., Zhang, M. G., Zheng, P. J., Lau, E. Y. H., Sun, J., & Zhu, Y. X. (2021). The effects of mindfulness-based interventions on child and adolescent aggression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Mindfulness, 12(6), 1301–1315.
Vekety, B., Logemann, H. N. A., & Takacs, Z. K. (2021). The effect of mindfulness-based interventions on inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive behavior in childhood: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 45(2), 133–145.
Viglas, M., & Perlman, M. (2018). Effects of a mindfulness-based program on young children’s self-regulation, prosocial behavior and hyperactivity. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(4), 1150–1161.
Wright, K. M., Roberts, R., & Proeve, M. J. (2019). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children (MBCT-C) for prevention of internalizing difficulties: A small randomized controlled trial with Australian primary school children. Mindfulness, 10(11), 2277–2293.
Outlines

/

Copyright © Editorial office of Studies of Psychology and Behavior
Tel: 022-23540231, 23541213 E-mail: psybeh@126.com