Brian M. Galla’s research while affiliated with University of Pittsburgh and other places

There is no abstract for this chapter.

Many college students view introductory physics as demanding, psychologically threatening contexts. We use the challenge-threat model to demonstrate mindfulness training helps students see they have the resources to overcome their physics demands. Two experiments (Ns = 27, 149; 1 pre-registered RCT) explored the distribution of psychological threat within introductory physics and tested whether mindfulness training could alter students’ appraisals and psychological threat. In screening data, over half of students reported threat. Historically excluded group students were more likely to report threat (vs. challenge) and dominant group students were more likely to report challenge (vs. threat). Further, mindfulness training increased perceived momentary resources and reduced monetary threat during the intervention. Mindfulness buffered against escalating threat and declining resources three months later. The results demonstrate the benefits of mindfulness in academic contexts where stress can be adaptive by changing appraisals and reducing threat in introductory physics.

Are universal school-based mindfulness interventions an effective way to reduce risk for mental disorders and improve adolescents' lives? To answer this question, we reanalyzed data from Dunning et al.'s (2022) meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of mindfulness interventions delivered to children and adolescents. Though Dunning et al. (2022) reported some benefits of universal mindfulness interventions, their analysis did not examine adolescents separately from children. Consequently, their conclusions may not entirely reflect the effectiveness of universal mindfulness interventions specifically for adolescents, a developmental period when mental disorders are known to increase. Using their open-access data tables, we tested impacts of 22 randomized controlled trials (N = 16,558) on eight outcome categories—anxiety/stress, attention, depression, executive functioning, mindfulness, negative behavior, social behavior, and wellbeing—at immediate post-test and longest follow-up. Our reanalysis shows that when compared to passive controls, mindfulness interventions significantly reduced trait mindfulness (d = −0.10). When compared to active controls, mindfulness interventions significantly improved anxiety/stress (d = 0.17) and wellbeing (d = 0.10). When compared to all controls combined, mindfulness interventions did not significantly improve any outcome (ds = 0.01 to 0.26). No effects of mindfulness interventions were observed at follow-up assessment. Overall, results of our analysis cast doubt about the value of existing school-based mindfulness interventions as a universal prevention strategy for adolescents.

In this article, I argue that the scalability and effectiveness of universal school‐based mindfulness interventions for adolescents will always be limited by the high motivational commitment required to meditate. Mindfulness interventions rely on a single and demanding health behavior—namely, meditation—to cultivate mindfulness skills. But unlike traditional mindfulness interventions delivered in clinics to self‐selected adults who are motivated to manage personal problems through meditation, universal school‐based mindfulness interventions are delivered to all adolescents regardless of their desire to meditate. I review evidence from multiple randomized controlled trials of universal school‐based mindfulness interventions to show that adolescents consistently report low levels of engagement in meditation and that many interventions have failed to improve adolescents' mental health. I propose that universal mindfulness interventions eliminate meditation entirely and focus on instilling contemplative viewpoints conducive to flourishing, and that the skill of mindfulness is taught only to adolescents who want to meditate.

Are universal school-based mindfulness interventions an effective way to reduce risk for mental disorders and improve adolescents’ lives? To answer this question, we reanalyzed data from Dunning et al.’s (2022) meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of mindfulness interventions delivered to children and adolescents. Though Dunning et al. reported some benefits of universal mindfulness interventions, their analysis did not examine adolescents separately from children. Consequently, their conclusions may not entirely reflect the effectiveness of universal mindfulness interventions specifically for adolescents, a developmental period when mental disorders are known to increase. Using their open-access data tables, we tested impacts of 22 randomized controlled trials (N = 16,558) on eight outcome categories—anxiety/stress, attention, depression, executive functioning, mindfulness, negative behavior, social behavior, and well-being—at immediate post-test and longest follow-up. Our reanalysis shows that when compared to passive controls, mindfulness interventions significantly reduced trait mindfulness (d = -.10). When compared to active controls, mindfulness interventions significantly improved anxiety/stress (d = .17) and well-being (d = .10). When compared to all controls combined, mindfulness interventions did not significantly improve any outcome (ds = .01 to .26). No effects of mindfulness interventions were observed at follow-up assessment. Overall, results of our analysis cast doubt about the value of existing school-based mindfulness interventions as a universal prevention strategy for adolescents.

The present study explored prospective links between trait mindfulness and compassion on subsequent coping and compliance with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and indirect effects via well‐being and internalized distress during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The study included N = 736 US college students who participated in a three‐wave longitudinal study across a single academic year. The first two assessment waves took place in 2018 and 2019, respectively, while the third wave took place in May 2020 during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Participants completed self‐report measures of trait mindfulness, compassion, well‐being, internalized distress, coping, and compliance with CDC health guidelines. Results of a series of autoregressive, cross‐lagged panel models revealed that trait mindfulness was associated with better coping via indirect effects of greater well‐being and lower internalized distress. Greater compassion was linked with greater adherence to CDC guidelines. Findings suggest that trait mindfulness and compassion may play a role in college students' coping and compliance during the pandemic.

Developmental-relational theories of adolescence suggest that receiving compassion from others promotes an internalized sense of relatedness with others, which in turn can support extending compassion toward others. Given that adolescence is marked by an expanding social environment, this may be a particularly salient time for a young person's social-ecology to impact their motivation to express compassion. We explore this hypothesis using a yearlong, three-wave longitudinal dataset from 599 adolescents (Mage = 16.3 years; 49% girls; 80% White) who attended high school in a suburban area of western Pennsylvania. Autoregressive, cross-lagged panel analyses indicated that adolescents' perceptions of receiving compassion from others at the beginning of the school year was associated with an increased sense of relatedness in the middle of the year, which in turn predicted greater extending compassion for others at the end of the year. Implications for applying a developmental-relational view to research and intervention efforts on compassion in adolescence are discussed.

This special section includes a series of papers that envision the next generation of research on school-based mindfulness programming (SBMP) for students ages 4–18 years. In the first paper, Roeser et al (Mindfulness 13, 2022b) summarize the current evidence of SBMPs, as well as limitations and critiques of this work. Based on their review, they propose improving experimental research and incorporating diverse theories and methods in future research that go “beyond all splits” towards a non-dualistic and relationally, culturally, contextually, ethically, and developmentally grounded science on mindfulness and compassion for students in schools. In a second paper, Baelen et al. (Mindfulness 13, 2022) describe a framework to enhance the consistency and completeness in implementation reporting in experimental research on SBMPs for students in order to increase our ability to draw causal inferences about the range of implementation elements that might explain program impacts on students of different ages and backgrounds in a diverse array of school contexts, and to support replication efforts and translation of research to practice. In a third paper, Felver et al. (Mindfulness 13, 2022) utilize the Delphi consensus methodology with thought leaders involved in mindfulness practice and research to identify core components of mindfulness-based programming for youth that may inform future research and applied work. Commentaries on the first two papers follow.

Objectives This paper describes the emergence of the scientific study of mindfulness in schools; summarizes findings of experimental research on the impacts of school-based mindfulness programs (SBMPs) on student outcomes in prekindergarten, primary, and secondary school settings (ages 4–18 years); discusses scientific limitations and wider critiques of this work; and offers suggestions for future research. Methods Public data are used to describe the emergence of science on SBMPs, the foci of this research, and the academic disciplines contributing to it. A narrative summary of scientific findings regarding the impacts of SBMPs on students, and critiques of this work, is also presented. Results Research is increasing and is primarily psychological and prevention-oriented. Evidence shows SBMPs can enhance students’ self-regulation abilities, but SBMPs’ impacts on other student outcomes at different ages are equivocal. The current research has significant limitations, and these, alongside wider critiques of the work, suggest important directions for research. Conclusions In the next generation of science, we suggest (a) improving the experimental research; (b) expanding developmental research; and (c) re-envisioning assumptions, theories, and methods in research to go “beyond all splits” towards a non-dualistic and relationally, culturally, contextually, ethically, and developmentally grounded science on mindfulness and compassion for students in schools.