We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Hair cortisol reduction and social integration enhancement after a mindfulness‐based intervention in children.
- Authors
Carro, Natalia; Ibar, Carolina; D'Adamo, Paola; Gonzalez, Diego; Berg, Gabriela; Fabre, Bibiana; Lozada, Mariana
- Abstract
Background: Over recent decades, chronic stress at an early age has become a worrying health problem in children. We seek to evaluate an intervention involving mindfulness‐based practices and prosocial activities in 7‐ to 8‐year‐old children. Methods: Stress levels were determined using hair cortisol concentration (HCC), and social integration was measured by means of a sociogram. The program had previously proven to be effective in decreasing salivary cortisol levels and in favouring social integration in children. A total of 35 children participated in the study: 18 constituted the intervention group and 17 the wait‐list group. In both groups, HCC and social integration were evaluated before and after the intervention conducted throughout an entire school year. Results: The experimental group showed a significant reduction in HCC, as well as significant enhancement of social integration levels, whereas no changes were observed in the wait‐list group. Conclusions: This is the first research to show that HCC, a reliable neuroendocrine indicator, decreased as a result of a mindfulness‐based program. This successful outcome adds new evidence to previous findings regarding the reduction of chronic stress in children following participation in this program.
- Subjects
TREATMENT of psychological stress; SALIVA analysis; MINDFULNESS; CHRONIC diseases; HAIR analysis; TREATMENT effectiveness; COMPARATIVE studies; HYDROCORTISONE; SOCIAL integration; EVALUATION; CHILDREN
- Publication
Child: Care, Health & Development, 2023, Vol 49, Issue 1, p73
- ISSN
0305-1862
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/cch.13008