Mindfulness-Training in Preadolescents in School: The Role of Emotionality, EEG in Theta/Beta Bands, Creativity and Attention
Abstract
Mindfulness meditation is a means of increasing awareness of the present moment. Mindfulness Mediation Interventions (MMI) positively impact psychological functioning, yet the neurocognitive mechanisms that mediate these effects have been less well-defined. Here, the primary aim was to evaluate whether the effects of a 10-week MMI were mediated by changes in attention and creativity performance, as well as resting-state theta/beta (TB) ratio and alpha power. We also sought to determine whether any of these measures at baseline were predictive of mindfulness success, as rated by the 7-11-year-old participants and their teachers. Reductions in depression from pre-to-post were mediated by reductions in TB ratio and increases in alpha power; however, they were not mediated by attention/creativity changes. Higher baseline attention and creativity scores predicted enhanced mindfulness success post-intervention but notably, follow-up analyses revealed that those scoring lower on these measures were more likely to have reduced depression from pre-to-post.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
This study is relatively simple and may miss other valuable specific indicators compared to other research of extended analysis on the ratio of various frequency bands.
“This study is relatively simple and may miss other valuable specific indicators compared to the other research of extended analysis on the ratio of various frequency bands (Shanok et al. 2022).”
From Changes in Mental Health and EEG Biomarkers of Undergraduates Under Different Patterns of Mindfulness (2024) · cites this paper as Shanok et al. 2022
Cites
1 retracted
Colzato, L. S., Szapora, A., Lippelt, D. P., & Hommel, B. (2014) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-014-0352-9 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
RetractedThe CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population
Radloff, L. S. (1977) · Applied Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/014662167700100306 · Cited by 53,267 · see citing works
Carver, C. S., & White, T. L. (1994) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.67.2.319 · Cited by 7,306 · see citing works
Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory
Eysenck, M. W., Derakshan, N., Santos, R., & Calvo, M. G. (2007) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/1528-3542.7.2.336 · Cited by 5,289 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The attentional control theory [59, 60] posits that negative emotionality symptoms including depression and anxiety are in part caused by attentional dysfunction, and an inability to regulate ruminative and negative thought patterns.”
BackgroundShapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A., & Freedman, B. (2006) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.20237 · Cited by 4,002 · see citing works
Goldin, P. R., & Gross, J. J. (2010) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0018441 · Cited by 1,242 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The finding of reduced depression resulting from the MMI is in line with prior literature on this topic [4]; however, in contrast with our hypotheses none of the other emotional measures (BIS/BAS, positive or negative affect) were improved post-intervention.”
ResultMood disorders in children and adolescents: an epidemiologic perspective
Kessler, R. C., Avenevoli, S., & Ries Merikangas, K. (2001) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(01)01129-5 · Cited by 1,181 · see citing works
Laurent, J., Catanzaro, S. J., Joiner, T. E., Rudolph, K. D., Potter, K. I., Lambert, S. F., Osborne, L. N., & Gathright, T. (1999) · Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1037/1040-3590.11.3.326 · Cited by 1,153 · see citing works
Mindfulness-based interventions for psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Goldberg, S. B., Tucker, R. P., Greene, P. A., Davidson, R. J., Wampold, B. E., Kearney, D. J., & Simpson, T. L. (2018) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2017.10.011 · Cited by 1,145 · see citing works
EEG differences between eyes-closed and eyes-open resting conditions
Barry, R. J., Clarke, A. R., Johnstone, S. J., Magee, C. A., & Rushby, J. A. (2007) · Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2007.07.028 · Cited by 1,077 · see citing works
Creativity: Yesterday, today and tomorrow
GUILFORD, J. P. (1967) · The Journal of Creative Behavior · doi:10.1002/j.2162-6057.1967.tb00002.x · Cited by 1,008 · see citing works
Inspired by Distraction: Mind Wandering Facilitates Creative Incubation
Baird, B., Smallwood, J., Mrazek, M. D., Kam, J. W. Y., Franklin, M. S., & Schooler, J. W. (2012) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797612446024 · Cited by 975 · see citing works
The teen brain: insights from neuroimaging
Giedd, J. N. (2008) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.01.007 · Cited by 775 · see citing works
Mindfulness Interventions with Youth: A Meta-Analysis
Zoogman, S., Goldberg, S. B., Hoyt, W. T., & Miller, L. (2015) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-013-0260-4 · Cited by 760 · see citing works
Mindfulness Meditation Training in Adults and Adolescents With ADHD: A Feasibility Study
Zylowska, L., Ackerman, D. L., Yang, M. H., Futrell, J. L., Horton, N. L., Hale, T. S., Pataki, C., & Smalley, S. L. (2008) · Journal of Attention Disorders · doi:10.1177/1087054707308502 · Cited by 674 · see citing works
Wood, A. M., & Joseph, S. (2010) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2009.06.032 · Cited by 624 · see citing works
Depression, anxiety, and resting frontal EEG asymmetry: A meta-analytic review.
Thibodeau, R., Jorgensen, R. S., & Kim, S. (2006) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.115.4.715 · Cited by 620 · see citing works
Dunning, D. L., Griffiths, K., Kuyken, W., Crane, C., Foulkes, L., Parker, J., & Dalgleish, T. (2019) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.12980 · Cited by 610 · see citing works
EEG alpha power and creative ideation
Fink, A., & Benedek, M. (2012) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.12.002 · Cited by 567 · see citing works
Epidemiology of Depressive Symptoms in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
Rushton, J. L., Forcier, M. M., & Schectman, R. (2002) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-200202000-00014 · Cited by 552 · see citing works
Neural mechanisms of attentional control in mindfulness meditation
Malinowski, P. (2013) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2013.00008 · Cited by 547 · see citing works
A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations
Lomas, T., Ivtzan, I., & Fu, C. H. Y. (2015) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.09.018 · Cited by 506 · see citing works
Semple, R. J., Lee, J., Rosa, D., & Miller, L. F. (2010) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-009-9301-y · Cited by 495 · see citing works
A role for synaptic plasticity in the adolescent development of executive function
Selemon, L. D. (2013) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/tp.2013.7 · Cited by 439 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Much of the prior research has focused on adult samples but children may be particularly amenable to the positive effects of training given the neural plasticity of the maturing brain [7].”
BackgroundHow and for whom? Mediation and moderation in health psychology.
MacKinnon, D. P., & Luecken, L. J. (2008) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.27.2(suppl.).s99 · Cited by 426 · see citing works
Mechanisms of mindfulness: a buddhist psychological model
Grabovac, A. D., Lau, M. A., & Willett, B. R. (2011) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-011-0054-5 · Cited by 402 · see citing works
A Meta-analysis of Quantitative EEG Power Associated With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Snyder, S., & Hall, J. (2006) · Journal of clinical neurophysiology · doi:10.1097/01.wnp.0000221363.12503.78 · Cited by 371 · see citing works
Williams, J. M. G., Alatiq, Y., Crane, C., Barnhofer, T., Fennell, M. J. V., Duggan, D. S., Hepburn, S., & Goodwin, G. M. (2008) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2007.08.022 · Cited by 327 · see citing works
Mindfulness-based stress reduction and attentional control
Anderson, N. D., Lau, M. A., Segal, Z. V., & Bishop, S. R. (2007) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.544 · Cited by 326 · see citing works
Monastra, V. J., Lubar, J. F., & Linden, M. (2001) · Neuropsychology · doi:10.1037//0894-4105.15.1.136 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
Investigating models of affect: Relationships among EEG alpha asymmetry, depression, and anxiety.
Mathersul, D. C., Williams, L. M., Hopkinson, P., & Kemp, A. H. (2008) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0012811 · Cited by 274 · see citing works
Mind full of ideas: A meta-analysis of the mindfulness–creativity link
Lebuda, I., Zabelina, D. L., & Karwowski, M. (2015) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.09.040 · Cited by 252 · see citing works
Monastra, V. J., Lubar, J. F., & Linden, M. (2001) · Neuropsychology · doi:10.1037/0894-4105.15.1.136 · Cited by 240 · see citing works
Putman, P., van Peer, J. M., Maimari, I., & van der Werff, S. J. (2009) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.10.008 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Does mindfulness meditation enhance attention? A randomized controlled trial
Semple, R. J. (2010) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-010-0017-2 · Cited by 217 · see citing works
Moynihan, J. A., Chapman, B. P., Klorman, R., Krasner, M. S., Duberstein, P. R., Brown, K. W., & Talbot, N. L. (2013) · Neuropsychobiology · doi:10.1159/000350949 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Mindfulness with Children and Adolescents: Effective Clinical Application
Thompson, M., & Gauntlett‐Gilbert, J. (2008) · Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1359104508090603 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Bruder, G. E., Stewart, J. W., & McGrath, P. J. (2017) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.04.021 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Six Subclinical Spectrum Traits in Normal Creativity
Schuldberg, D. (2001) · Creativity Research Journal · doi:10.1207/s15326934crj1301_2 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
Why We Sing the Blues: The Relation Between Self-Reflective Rumination, Mood, and Creativity.
Verhaeghen, P., Joormann, J., & Khan, R. (2005) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/1528-3542.5.2.226 · Cited by 183 · see citing works
Screening for anxiety and depression in early adolescence
DIERKER, L. C., ALBANO, A. M., CLARKE, G. N., HEIMBERG, R. G., KENDALL, P. C., MERIKANGAS, K. R., LEWINSOHN, P. M., OFFORD, D. R., KESSLER, R., & KUPFER, D. J. (2001) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-200108000-00015 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
The Neuropsychological Connection Between Creativity and Meditation
Horan, R. (2009) · Creativity Research Journal · doi:10.1080/10400410902858691 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Cognitive control moderates the association between stress and rumination
Lissnyder, E. D., Koster, E. H. W., Goubert, L., Onraedt, T., Vanderhasselt, M., & Raedt, R. D. (2011) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.07.004 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Cásedas, L., Pirruccio, V., Vadillo, M. A., & Lupiáñez, J. (2020) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-019-01279-4 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Screening of depression in adolescents through the Internet
Cuijpers, P. J., Boluijt, P., & van Straten, A. (2007) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-007-0631-2 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Life events, coping and depressive symptoms among young adolescents: a one-year prospective study.
Sawyer, M., Pfeiffer, S., & Spence, S. (2009) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2008.12.013 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Silvia, P. J., & Kimbrel, N. A. (2010) · Psychology of Aesthetics Creativity and the Arts · doi:10.1037/a0016494 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Sportel, B. E., Nauta, M. H., de Hullu, E., de Jong, P. J., & Hartman, C. A. (2010) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-010-9435-y · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Mindfulness based cognitive therapy improves frontal control in bipolar disorder: a pilot EEG study
Howells, F. M., Ives-Deliperi, V. L., Horn, N. R., & Stein, D. J. (2012) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/1471-244x-12-15 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Ren, J., Huang, Z., Luo, J., Wei, G., Ying, X., Ding, Z., Wu, Y., & Luo, F. (2011) · Science China Life Sciences · doi:10.1007/s11427-011-4233-3 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Massage and music therapies attenuate frontal EEG asymmetry in depressed adolescents.
Jones, N. A., & Field, T. M. (1999) · PubMed · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Self-citationDurham, T. W. (1982) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/1097-4679(198207)38:3 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
EEG mapping in patients with social phobia
Sachs, G., Anderer, P., Dantendorfer, K., & Saletu, B. (2004) · Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging · doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2003.08.007 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Explanatory Flexibility and Negative Life Events Interact to Predict Depression Symptoms
Fresco, D. M., Rytwinski, N. K., & Craighead, L. W. (2007) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.2007.26.5.595 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Take Some Time to Think This Over: The Relation Between Rumination, Indecision, and Creativity
Cohen, J. R., & Ferrari, J. R. (2010) · Creativity Research Journal · doi:10.1080/10400410903579601 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Cheek, J. M., & Stahl, S. S. (1986) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/0092-6566(86)90108-x · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Bhatnagar, R., Phelps, L. F., Rietz, K. R., Juergens, T., Russell, D. H., Miller, N., & Ahearn, E. P. (2013) · Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1089/acm.2012.0602 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Sibalis, A., Milligan, K., Pun, C., McKeough, T., Schmidt, L. A., & Segalowitz, S. J. (2017) · Journal of Attention Disorders · doi:10.1177/1087054717719535 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Waszczuk, M. A., Brown, H. M., Eley, T. C., & Lester, K. J. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141535 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Zhou, R., & Liu, L. (2016) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0591-z · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Siripornpanich, V., Sampoon, K., Chaithirayanon, S., Kotchabhakdi, N., & Chutabhakdikul, N. (2018) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-018-0930-3 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Shanok, N. A., Reive, C., Mize, K. D., & Jones, N. A. (2019) · Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1027/0269-8803/a000244 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Effects of virtual reality on creative performance and emotions: A study of brainwaves
Huang, H.-T., & Chang, Y. (2023) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2023.107815 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Kim, S., Kim, J. H., Hyung, W., Shin, S., Choi, M. J., Kim, D. H., & Im, C. (2023) · IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies · doi:10.1109/tlt.2023.3289498 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Luo, M., Gan, Q., Huang, Z., Jiang, Y., Li, K., Wu, M., Yang, D., Shao, H., Chen, Y., Fu, Y., et al. (2024) · Brain Topography · doi:10.1007/s10548-023-01026-y · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“This study is relatively simple and may miss other valuable specific indicators compared to the other research of extended analysis on the ratio of various frequency bands (Shanok et al. 2022).”
Taori, T. J., Gupta, S. S., Manthalkar, R. R., & Gajre, S. S. (2024) · Lecture notes in electrical engineering · doi:10.1007/978-981-97-1463-6_15
Luo, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhai, Y., Lu, Z., Shou, L., Hu, L., Chen, Y., He, W., Qin, Y., Anwar, N., et al. (2024) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-4962094/v1
Moreno, A. J., Hinze-Pifer, R., Baker, S., Kakuyama-Villaber, R., & Linker, A. (2025) · Early Childhood Research Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.09.003
Zhang, H., Li, Y. W., Zhang, Y. Z., & Guo, J. (2026) · Basic and Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/01973533.2026.2666504
School‐Based Mindfulness Interventions in Primary Education: A Systematic Review
Saviano, E., Angelis, G. D., Orefice, A., Rega, A., Cavallaro, A., & Gennaro, A. (2026) · Psychology in the Schools · doi:10.1002/pits.70211
- Authors
- Shanok, N. A., Saldias-Manieu, C., Mize, K. D., Chassin, V., & Jones, N. A.
- Affiliations
- Florida Atlantic University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Shanok, Nathaniel A.
- Venue
- Child Psychiatry & Human Development
- Published
- 2022-02-03
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1152-1166
- ISSN
- 0009-398X (ISSN-L)
- 1573-3327
- OpenAlex
- W4210423676
- Cited by
- 8
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3
- FWCI
- 1.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Child Psychiatry & Human Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Keywords
- mindfulness meditation, preadolescents, emotionality, resting-state EEG, theta/beta ratio, alpha power, creativity, attention, depression, mediation, school-based intervention
- MeSH terms
- Attention, Mental Disorders, Child, Electroencephalography, Humans, Mindfulness
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review