Effects Of Modified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) On The Psychological Health Of Adolescents With Subthreshold Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background

Sub-threshold depression (SD) has been associated with impairments in adolescent health which increase the rate of major depression. Researchers have shown the effectiveness of mindfulness on mental health, however whether the traditional mindful skills were suitable for youngsters, it was not clear. This study investigated the effects of a tailed Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on their psychological state.

Methods

A double-blind, randomized controlled trial was carried out. 56 participants who met the inclusion criteria agreed to be arranged randomly to either the MBSR group (n=28) or the control group (n=28). Participants in MBSR group received a tailored 8-week, one time per week, one hour each time group intervention. The effectiveness of intervention was measured using validated scales, which including BDI-II, MAAS, RRS at three times (T1-before intervention; T2-after intervention; T3-three months after intervention). A repeated-measures analysis of variance model was used to analyze the data.

Results

The results showed significant improvements in MBSR group comparing with control group that depression level decreased after the 8-week intervention and the follow up (F =17.721, p < 0.00). At the same time, RRS score was significantly decreased at T2 and T3(F= 28.277, p < 0.00). The results also showed that MBSR promoted the level of mindfulness and the effect persisted for three months after intervention (F=13.489, p < 0.00).

Conclusion

A tailored MBSR intervention has positive effects on psychology health among SD youngsters, including decrease depression and rumination level, cultivate mindfulness.

Keywords:

• mindfulness
• adolescent
• subthreshold depression

Acknowledgments

The authors were grateful for all the participants in this study for their cooperation and all the clinical staff for providing the intervention place and the assistance with data collection. This work was supported by the grant of Science Foundation of Ministry of Education of China [No.17YJCZH241] and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Provincial Universities [No.2018wld-02]. Jia-Yuan Zhang and Xiang-Zi Ji are co-first authors.

Ethical Approval And Consent To Participate

The University of Institutional review board approved this study (No.2017-10) and informed consent was obtained from every participant.

Consent For Publication

Informed consent for the publication of these have been obtained from all participants. All the students have signed for agreement. The parent or legal guardian provided written informed consent for any participant under the age of 18 years.

Data Sharing Statement

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.