The PACE Study (Present-Moment Awareness, Attention, Compassion, Emotion Regulation): Effects of School-Based Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the effects of three different school-based programs focused on mindfulness, compassion, and social-emotional learning on children's psychological well-being and higher-level thinking skills. The study aims to understand how these classroom interventions influence attention, executive functions, emotional regulation, mindfulness, self-compassion, and social-emotional abilities in children aged 8 to 13 years. The study includes three groups: one group participates in a six-module mindfulness program that teaches emotional and body awareness, attention control, and self-regulation through experiential activities like storytelling and breathing exercises. A second group receives a six-module social-emotional learning program focusing on emotion recognition, regulation, empathy, problem-solving, and social skills. The third group engages in a six-module compassion-focused training aimed at building compassion, emotional awareness, and self-regulation through creative and reflective exercises. Children are assessed before and after the interventions using standardized tests and questionnaires over a 10-day period to measure mindfulness, self-compassion, self-esteem, various executive functions including visual attention and working memory, emotional stability, prosocial behavior, and cognitive flexibility. The interventions are delivered in classrooms through structured activities, and participation involves completing these assessments and engaging in the assigned program. The study is randomized and open-label, with results collected to evaluate how these interventions impact children's psychological and cognitive outcomes.

PACE Study: School-Based Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions for Children