The Potential of Mindfulness Approaches to Improve Children's Health

Mindfulness approaches in individual health behaviors and in medical practice are relatively new tools in western culture. It is a commonly held belief that these tools can be used in disease/disorder prevention and be integrated with proven prevention and treatment interventions. However, the research literature supporting these approaches is scattered.  For example, a recent review by Greenberg and Harris (2012) highlighted strong interest in the use of mindfulness approaches (e.g., mindfulness based stress reduction, meditation, yoga) to improve the well-being of children and youth across the life-course, however, the evidence base is quite small.  The goals of this Roundtable are to bring together individuals interested in advancing this area of research to discuss: 1) current practices of mindfulness approaches for improving children’s health; 2) the evidence base for mindfulness approaches in improving children’s health, including use by relevant people in children’s lives (e.g., parents, teachers); 3) known and potential mechanisms of action associated with mindfulness approaches ; 4) the way forward in establishing a research agenda that is efficient and impactful; 5) concepts of health promotion, prevention of disorders, and resilience, and within this research agenda; and 6) important methodological issues (e.g., proximal and long-term measures, control groups, use of pragmatic designs).  The exploration of these questions with a group of scientists from differing scientific, regional, and cultural backgrounds will facilitate a better understanding of gaps in the research literature.  Specifically, gaps in the research literature with emphasis on mediators, mechanisms and methods and how to better integrate these approaches into the lives and lifestyles of children and their families through health promotion and prevention methods.