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Differential effects of digital mindfulness-based interventions on creative potential and responsibility among middle school students.

The British journal of educational psychology
September 1, 2024
Rebecchi Kevin et al. (4 authors)
Journal ArticleRandomized Controlled TrialHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to investigate the impact of digital in-class meditation programs on adolescents' creative potential and sense of responsibility, focusing on different meditation intentions (self-centred vs. responsibility-centred).

Results Summary

The study found no effects on divergent thinking or self-reported mindfulness but observed significant improvements in graphic and verbal convergent creative thinking and responsibility scores, particularly in the responsibility-centred meditation group compared to the self-centred group. Effect sizes indicated moderate but significant impacts.

Population

107 year 7 adolescents from six middle school classes.

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

11 weeks

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (8)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
digital in-class meditation programmes
no change
divergent thinking
year 7 adolescents
-
no discernible effects
#1
digital in-class meditation programmes
no change
self-reported mindfulness
year 7 adolescents
-
no discernible effects
#2
responsibility-centred meditation
increase
graphic convergent creative thinking
year 7 adolescents
-
significant differences
#3
responsibility-centred meditation
increase
verbal convergent creative thinking
year 7 adolescents
-
significant differences
#4
responsibility-centred meditation
increase
responsibility scores
year 7 adolescents
-
significant differences
#5
self-centred meditation
neutral
-
year 7 adolescents
-
distinctions were noted
#6
digital meditation interventions
increase
convergent creative thinking
middle-school students
-
effectiveness
#7
digital meditation interventions
increase
responsibility
middle-school students
-
effectiveness
#8
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Creativity and responsibility are enhanced by meditation among adults, but such effects have not been studied in adolescents. Moreover, the determinants of the ethical effect (such as responsibility) of meditation are unclear. AIMS: To address this gap by investigating the impact of digital in-class meditation programmes in middle school, focusing on intentions (self-centred vs. responsibility-centred), on adolescents' creative potential and sense of responsibility. These intentions are operationalized by different purpose-based meditations. METHODS: We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial involving 107 year 7 adolescents from six classes, assigning them to two experimental groups and an active control group. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted over an 11-week period, including a creativity (EPoC) test comprising four exercises (graphic and verbal, divergent and convergent thinking), a responsibility and a mindfulness scale. RESULTS: Our findings revealed no discernible effects on divergent thinking or self-reported mindfulness. However, we observed significant differences in graphic and verbal convergent creative thinking, as well as impacting responsibility scores, between a responsibility-centred meditation group and a self-centred meditation group. Moreover, distinctions were noted between control and self-centred meditation groups and between some classes. Effect sizes indicated that the interventions had a moderate but significant impact on the variables measured. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals the effectiveness of digital meditation interventions in enhancing convergent creative thinking and responsibility among middle-school students. Notably, it shed new light on the importance of meditation intentions, which may be as significant as the form of meditation itself.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
HumansCreativityAdolescentMindfulnessMaleFemaleMeditationStudentsSchoolsSocial Responsibility
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality85/10
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.05
Weight Score2.53
Normalized Score0.67
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