Evaluation of Yoga for Preventing Adolescent Substance Use Risk Factors in a Middle School Setting: A Preliminary Group-Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Adolescence is a key developmental period for preventing substance use initiation, however prevention programs solely providing educational information about the dangers of substance use rarely change adolescent substance use behaviors. Recent research suggests that mind–body practices such as yoga may have beneficial effects on several substance use risk factors, and that these practices may serve as promising interventions for preventing adolescent substance use. The primary aim of the present study was to test the efficacy of yoga for reducing substance use risk factors during early adolescence. Seventh-grade students in a public school were randomly assigned by classroom to receive either a 32-session yoga intervention (n = 117) in place of their regular physical education classes or to continue with physical-education-as-usual (n = 94). Participants (63.2 % female; 53.6 % White) completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessing emotional self-regulation, perceived stress, mood impairment, impulsivity, substance use willingness, and actual substance use. Participants also completed questionnaires at 6-months and 1-year post-intervention. Results revealed that participants in the control condition were significantly more willing to try smoking cigarettes immediately post-intervention than participants in the yoga condition. Immediate pre- to post-intervention differences did not emerge for the remaining outcomes. However, long-term follow-up analyses revealed a pattern of delayed effects in which females in the yoga condition, and males in the control condition, demonstrated improvements in emotional self-control. The findings suggest that school-based yoga may have beneficial effects with regard to preventing males' and females' willingness to smoke cigarettes, as well as improving emotional self-control in females. However additional research is required, particularly with regard to the potential long-term effects of mind–body interventions in school settings. The present study contributes to the literature on adolescence by examining school-based yoga as a novel prevention program for substance use risk factors.

Mindfulness-Based Interventions for the Treatment of Substance and Behavioral Addictions: A Systematic Review

“…Four studies did not provide gender data ( 31 , 33 – 35 ), five studies included only females ( 36 – 40 ) and six studies only males ( 41 – 46 ). Moreover, the target population of two studies was adolescence ( 47 , 48 ) and of seven studies were young adults or college students ( 32 , 34 , 42 , 44 , 49 – 51 ). One trial ( 52 ) was focused on individuals with mild intellectual disabilities.…”

A qualitative examination of yoga for middle school adolescents

“…For example, most students in the present study reported that yoga had beneficial effects on stress and mood, a finding that is similar to quantitative studies that measured psychosocial outcomes via self-report questionnaires (e.g., Felver et al, 2015; Frank et al, 2014; Noggle, Steiner, Minami, & Khalsa, 2012). However the present study is also unique in that it provided an opportunity to examine potential similarities and differences between the current qualitative findings and the results of the larger quantitative study within which the current study was embedded (Butzer, LoRusso et al, 2016). The quantitative study found that students in the control condition reported a greater willingness to smoke cigarettes immediately post-intervention than students in the yoga condition, however immediate pre- to post-intervention effects did not emerge for any of the other outcome measures such as mood impairment or perceived stress.…”

“…First, to our knowledge this is the first qualitative study of school-based yoga for 7 th grade students. In addition, the current study provides valuable information above and beyond the data gathered via self-report questionnaires in the larger quantitative study (Butzer, LoRusso et al, 2016). For example, the qualitative interview questions regarding the intervention solicited student experiences on detailed aspects of the intervention such as relative preference for individual components.…”

“…The present qualitative study is part of a larger quantitative study that involved a group-randomized controlled trial conducted in 2013–2014 at a public school in Boston, Massachusetts (Butzer, LoRusso, Shin, & Khalsa, 2016). The school serves grades 7 through 12 and is an exam school requiring students to place above a certain score on the Independent Schools Entrance Exam in order to attend (Boston Public Schools, 2008).…”

“…group discussions, students leading poses) and self-discovery (e.g. holding a posture beyond initial resistance, journaling about ways to de-stress) (see Butzer, LoRusso et al, 2016 for a detailed description of the yoga intervention). The study protocol was reviewed, approved, and overseen by the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Institutional Review Board (Partners Human Research Committee).…”