Children in the United States are at risk for numerous psychological problems, such as anxiety, attention problems, and mood disorders, and are underserved by current mental health provisions. The current study is a pilot trial to examine the effects of a nonelective, classroom-based, teacher-implemented, mindfulness meditation intervention on standard clinical measures of mental health and affect in middle school children. A total of 101 healthy sixth-grade students (55 boys and 46 girls) were randomized to either an Asian history course with daily mindfulness meditation practice (intervention group) or an African history course with a matched experiential activity (active control group). Self-reported data was collected by administering the Youth Self Report (YSR), a modified Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Measure -Revised before and after 6 weeks of meditation or active control condition. Both meditators and active controls decreased significantly on the YSR Internalizing Problems, Externalizing Problems, and Attention Problems subscales but did not differ in the extent of their improvements. Both groups also showed comparable improvements on measures in affect. Meditators were significantly less likely to develop suicidal ideation or thoughts of self-harm than controls. Improvements in affect were correlated with increases in mindfulness in meditators but not controls. These results suggest that mindfulness training may yield both unique and nonspecific benefits that are shared by other novel activities.

Mindfulness training has been used to improve emotional wellbeing in early adolescents. However, little is known about treatment outcome moderators, or individual differences that may differentially impact responses to treatment. The current study focused on gender as a potential moderator for affective outcomes in response to school-based mindfulness training. Sixth grade students (N = 100) were randomly assigned to either the six weeks of mindfulness meditation or the active control group as part of a history class curriculum. Participants in the mindfulness meditation group completed short mindfulness meditation sessions four to five times per week, in addition to didactic instruction (Asian history). The control group received matched experiential activity in addition to didactic instruction (African history) from the same teacher with no meditation component. Self-reported measures of emotional wellbeing/affect, mindfulness, and self-compassion were obtained at pre and post intervention. Meditators reported greater improvement in emotional wellbeing compared to those in the control group. Importantly, gender differences were detected, such that female meditators reported greater increases in positive affect compared to females in the control group, whereas male meditators and control males displayed equivalent gains. Uniquely among females but not males, increases in self-reported self-compassion were associated with improvements in affect. These findings support the efficacy of school-based mindfulness interventions, and interventions tailored to accommodate distinct developmental needs of female and male adolescents.

The incarcerated population has increased to unprecedented levels following the 1970 US declaration of war on illicit drug use. A substantial proportion of people with or at risk for HIV infection, including those with substance use and mental health disorders, have become incarcerated. The overlapping epidemics of incarceration and HIV present a need for academic medical centers to collaborate with the criminal justice system to improve the health of incarcerated populations. With coordinated collaboration and new programmatic initiatives it is possible to reduce HIV-associated risk behaviors and the likelihood of acquisition and transmission of HIV. Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR), funded by the National Institutes of Health, have proactively responded to this need through Collaboration on HIV in Corrections (CHIC) to improve the diagnosis, treatment, linkage to care, and prevention of HIV. This collaboration serves as a model for aligning academic expertise with criminal justice to confront this challenge to individual and public health. This is especially relevant given recent evidence of the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy in reducing HIV transmission