Mindfulness as cognitive and emotion regulation strategy to promote resilience in children

正念通常被定义为一种有目的和非判断性的注意力调节方式，可以使用既定的方法进行训练。正念练习对成年人心理健康的好处已经被广泛的实证研究所证明（Brown & Ryan，2003）。然而，对儿童和青少年时期的影响进行了较小程度的调查。青春期早期的特点是前额叶皮层发育的快速变化，这可以解释为学习影响的关键窗口。因此，我们有理由认为，尚未进入青春期的儿童从正念训练中获益特别大。此外，由于发展精神障碍的脆弱性增加，促进执行控制，情绪调节和幸福感在神经认知发展的这个阶段特别重要（桑格&多吉，2015;斯皮尔，2013）。一些实证研究已经证明，这些理想的心理特性可以通过正念训练来改善（例如，Jha等人，2010; Lyvers等人，2014; Poehlmann-Tynan等人，2016年）。然而，缺乏对儿童的研究，一方面，这些研究满足高方法标准，即，它涉及控制群体和客观措施，另一方面考虑基本机制及其相互关系。各种模型都同意这样的假设，即第一步的正念训练促进了执行功能，第二步促进了情绪调节。第三步，这是为了提高福祉。这一过程将具有持久的益处，例如提高学业成绩和自我调节能力，这显然与后来的职业成功、健康和高社会经济地位有关（Moffitt等人，2011年）。设想中的项目采用随机前后跟踪设计，在对小学儿童的研究中审查这一预测。在随机分配后，参与者要么在学校接受训练有素的教师进行为期8周的正念治疗，要么不接受特殊干预。在干预期之前和之后，立即通过客观和主观的措施评估儿童的执行控制、情绪调节和幸福感。所有测试在3个月的随访间隔后重复，以便可以在更长的时间内监测训练的效果。由于合理的实验设计和有效的测量方法，该项目推进了基础和应用研究，因为它既可以对正念的潜在机制得出结论，也可以对在学校环境中实施正念训练采取循证步骤。

Mindfulness is commonly defined as a purposeful and non-judgmental way of attention regulation which can be trained using established methods. The benefits of mindfulness practice for mental health of adults has been demonstrated by a wide range of empirical studies (Brown & Ryan, 2003). However, effects during childhood and adolescence have been investigated to a smaller degree. Early adolescence is marked by rapid changes in the development of the prefrontal cortex which can be interpreted in terms of a critical window for influences of learning. Hence, there is reason to assume that children who have not yet reached puberty benefit from mindfulness training to a particularly great extent. Furthermore, due to heightened vulnerability for developing mental disorders, promoting executive control, emotion regulation and well-being is of particular importance at this stage of neurocognitive development (Sanger & Dorjee, 2015; Spear, 2013). Several empirical studies have already demonstrated that these desirable mental properties can be improved by mindfulness training (e.g., Jha et al., 2010; Lyvers et al., 2014; Poehlmann-Tynan et al., 2016). However, there is a lack of research with children which on the one hand satisfies high methodological standards, i.e., involving control groups and objective measures, and which on the other hand considers underlying mechanisms and their interrelations. Various models agree on the assumption that mindfulness training in a first step fosters executive functions which in a second step promotes emotion regulation. In a third step, this is to result in enhanced well-being. This process would have lasting benefits such as an enhancement of school achievement and self-regulation, which are evidently associated with later career success, health, and high socioeconomic status (Moffitt et al., 2011). The envisaged project examines this prediction in a study with elementary school children using a randomized pre-post-follow-up design. After random assignment participants receive either an 8-week mindfulness treatment by trained teachers at school or no special intervention. Immediately before and after the intervention period executive control, emotion regulation, and well-being of the children are assessed by both objective and subjective measures. All tests are repeated after a 3-month follow-up interval so that effects of the training can be monitored over a longer period of time. Due to sound experimental design and valid measurement methods, the project advances basic as well as applied research, since it allows for both conclusions on underlying mechanisms of mindfulness, and evidence-based steps regarding the implementation of mindfulness training in school settings.