Adolescents’ Perceptions of Contemplative Practice Jacqueline E. Maloney, M.A., Jenna K. Whitehead, M.A., M. Jennifer Kitil, M.P.H., Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, Ph.D. Poster Presented at the 2016 International Symposium for Contemplative Studies;; November 10-13, 2016;; San Diego, CA RESULTS: MINDUP GROUP ONLY
INTRODUCTION In 2008, 99 grade 4 and 5 children took part in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating a mindfulness-‐based social and emotional learning (SEL) program, MindUP, implemented by trained classroom teachers. The program included 12 weekly lessons on mindfulness, SEL, and positive psychology. It also included a 3 times daily mindfulness practice in which students mindfully listened to a resonant chime followed by a three-‐ minute mindful breathing practice. Compared to the Control Group, the MindUP children demonstrated significantly larger positive gains in computer tasks of executive function; self-‐reported empathy, perspective-‐taking, emotion control, optimism, school-‐self concept, mindfulness, and decreased symptoms of depression; increased peer-‐ ratings of prosociality and acceptance; and decreased peer-‐rated aggression (Schonert-‐Reichl et al., 2015). The present longitudinal study followed up with the students 8 years later. As part of a larger follow-‐up study, we conducted 40 qualitative interviews with both MindUP (n = 20) and Control Group (n = 20).
RESEARCH QUESTIONS MindUP Group: What are MindUP participants' reflections on the program, and how do they understand the concept of mindfulness today?
“You didn’t really think about anything else at the time. Like the things about life, such as school or family or friends or whatever, it was just the feeling of being a human being. It was kind of connecting back with that kind of feeling… It felt really spiritual and really resonated with me… I didn’t forget that feeling.” (Reflecting on the daily mindfulness practice).
Spiritual “I remember a lot of my friends got fed up with it because I think it was quite warm in the classroom and it was mostly on sunny days, and they would get restless and stuff like that. I didn’t really say this to them because it was more of an unpopular opinion, but I enjoyed doing it. I enjoyed the quiet time, ‘cause I’m generally a fairly quiet person.”
Enjoyable
“It was fun. For me personally, I don’t really have problems in terms of distractions from things so I don’t know if it benefited me that much. I think in general, as an entire class it would have helped at least certain students that struggled with concentration.”
What Do You Remember About MindUP?
It’s Not For Everyone
MindUP & Control Groups: What are adolescents' experiences with contemplative practice and what are their perceptions of including contemplative practices in a high school setting?
• •
•
Peace
Present-‐Centered Awareness
Feelings of Self-‐Consciousness
Yes
CONTROL
“Sometimes you’ll be in the moment and you’ll just feel at peace with everything, and you just feel everything, and then you are aware of everything. “
Helpful
CONTEMPLATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM IN HIGH SCHOOLS?
What Is Mindfulness?
“Being mindful, being aware of what you are feeling, being aware of what other people are feeling, being aware of what’s happening in situations.”
Calm
Didn’t Understand Purpose of Program
YOGA
11
12
Maybe
I Don't Know
5
1
Relax and Let Go Respond Better to Stressful Situations
MINDUP
16
3
“I like the idea of having it when you are a child and then following it back up when you are older because I think people go through such huge changes between, so I think it’s really important to have that.” “There’s too many kids who are just stressed out, and they are not thinking clearly." “I think that’d be good ‘cause I feel like it’s not at the forefront of people’s priorities. They’re too consumed in what did happen or what’s going to happen. Not a lot of people actually think about what’s happening in the moment . “I think during high school it’s a big change for a lot of kids’ lives. They are going through a lot of stuff and I think it’s definitely helpful, especially if they’re having troubles finding their own way to deal with some of the stuff going on.” “It depends what it helps and how it’s gonna benefit. If you were to do that with high school students, if you were going to do what I did in grade 4 now, I think there would be some kids who wouldn’t be okay with it and they just wouldn’t do it. But if it’s kind of offered as a way to help people, I think students would take it more seriously.” “They might think it’s weird or strange. But I think with certain groups of kids it would work – that would not be an issue.”
9
PARTICIPANT SUGGESTIONS FOR CE PROGRAMS
PARTICIPANTS
TAI CHI
Gender
65 % Female, 35% Male
Grade
55% Grade 11, 45% Grade 12
First Language(s)
70% English, 10% Korean, 5% Cantonese, 5% Romanian, 5% Spanish
Control (n = 20) Gender
50% Female, 50% Male
Grade
45% Grade 11, 55% Grade 12 95% English, 5% Russian
2
1
MINDFULNESS/MEDITATION
Focused Awareness
Healthier Relationships
“You’re more aware of your body then. You’re more focused. You feel like it’s time for yourself, and you don’t think about anything else, worry about anything else. You’re just noticing your body and your movements. It’s peaceful“
“It can make it easier to interact with people, and it can make you much more pleasant to interact with.” “It feels like you slow down kind of ‘cause currently the world seems so fast paced. It helps just to slow down every once in a while.”
NONE
7
5
• • 4
5
Well-‐being
• •
It’s Not For Everyone Improved Mood “It was kinda awkward at first, but then it was fine. Because everyone else actually participated. It’s kind of one of those things when you’re like, is anyone else actually going to take this seriously or not?”
“I’ll just feel happier afterwards, and I’ll feel less stressed out and that I can focus more on the task at hand as opposed to worrying about other things. I can focus on the homework that I have that night or the task that I know that I have to accomplish.”
Benefits of Contemplative Practice
Slowing Down
• • • •
1
PRAYER
MindUP (n = 20)
Relief From Stress and Worry “It kind of gives you more a detached view of what’s going on. It gives you a chance to take time to focus on the different perspectives and analyze the things that are going on so you have a more well-‐rounded view.”
Challenges with Contemplative “It was just hard. You had to think Practices too much and at the same time you
Feelings of Self-‐ Consciousness
are not supposed to think at all.”
Clear Perception
“Some people respond well to that kind of thing [contemplative practice], but others don’t really. They find it kind of more stressful…Trying to stay calm and focus on one thing and relax is kind of hard for some people.”
Misunderstanding Practice
Increased Stress for Some People “With a team it’s a little harder because everyone’s joking around while you’re doing it.”
Hard to Practice When Others Don’t Take It Seriously
• •
Should be optional, not mandatory Separate from regular class environment in a calm, relaxed space Small groups or one-‐on-‐one instruction with qualified instructors Offer different types of contemplative practice, not just formal meditation (e.g., yoga, informal mindfulness practices related to adolescent life, tai chi) Practical, relevant, and appealing to teens – interactive and fun. Should take place during school hours so as not to add one more thing to their already busy schedules No homework or tests Give people a chance to share and discuss their experiences if they choose, but let sharing be optional Emphasize stress relief Straight forward – not complicated practices
CONCLUSIONS • Most participants who have tried contemplative practices (CPs) REFERENCES • • • •
found them beneficial. Most teens cited CPs as important for addressing the everyday stresses and challenges they face. Some found CPs challenging, boring, or stressful. If people don’t understand the relevance of CPs, they may not value them. Contemplative practice isn’t for everybody, but everyone should have the opportunity to try it at least. It should be included as an option in high schools, but CP should never be mandatory.
Contact for references or questions:
[email protected] kimberly.schonert-‐
[email protected]
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WHY/WHY NOT?
“ People who do these mindfulness activities are kind of different… They are usually pretty calm and sometimes when they have situations that are really pressuring or situations that make them anxious, they can have a different approach to it because they know how to calm themselves down. But, people who don’t have that experience don’t really know what to do.”
Contemplative Practice Since 2008 Study
We conducted 40 semi-‐structured, one-‐on-‐one qualitative interviews (20 MindUP, 20 Control), ranging from 10 – 30 minutes. We transcribed interviews verbatim. 2 raters conducted a six-‐step process of thematic analysis using an iterative process that included (1) becoming familiar with data through transcribing, reading, and re-‐reading while compiling initial ideas; (2) generating initial codes; (3) searching for themes; (4) reviewing themes; (5) naming themes; (6) reporting themes (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Raters reached 100% consensus on themes before reporting.
First Language(s)
Tames Worrying Mind
“Well, you sit there, and you just kind of let your mind relax. And you relax, and you just kind of let things happen. You let your mind go, and you feel relaxed and calm. And you come out the other end.”
RESULTS: MINDUP & CONTROL GROUP
METHODS •
“it’s just a time where I don’t need to be worrying about the list of to-‐dos that I have, but just being able to be in the present.”
Improved Concentration
“I feel like it did help me. I feel like I am a lot less stressed than many of my other friends, maybe it was because of this, but who knows?”
“It seemed kind of silly. I didn’t really know much about what we were doing. From what I remember, it makes a lot more sense [now]. I mean, it seems like it was a good program. It would have helped if I kind of knew what I was going through.”
THOUGHTS ON CONTEMPLATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN HIGH SCHOOL
