A Pilot Study of a Meditation and Mindfulness Program with Detained Juveniles: An Adaptation of Inner Resources for Teens (IRT). Issue 1 (1st January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Williams, Stephanie N.; Parkins, Monica M.; Benedict, Breanne; Waelde, Lynn C.
• Is Part Of: Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice. Volume 20:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 14
• Publication Date: 2020-01-01
• Subjects: Mindfulness -- meditation -- juvenile detention -- youth -- serious mental illness; Forensic psychology -- Research -- Periodicals; 614.15
• DOI: 10.1080/24732850.2020.1677108
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2473-2850

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This study examined the clinical utility of a meditation, mindfulness, and mantra intervention for youth experiencing serious mental illness while incarcerated. Participants were 17 adolescent males, aged 16 to 18, from two units of a county detention center in the San Francisco Bay Area. Eleven (64.7%) participants were Latino-American, one (5.9 %) was Black/African American, three (17.6 %) were Caucasian-American, one (5.9%) was Asian-American and one (5.9%) self-identified as "other/mixed race." The intervention consisted of a four-session adaptation of the Inner Resources for Teens (IRT) manualized intervention, designed to teach and practice skills for developing sustained mindfulness. Participants completed the intervention over a four-week period, attending one hour per week. They were asked to practice the techniques for ten minutes a day. Participants were assessed using the Child Acceptance and Mindfulness Measure (CAMM) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) at pre-treatment, mid-treatment, and immediate post-treatment. Intent-to-treat analyzes found statistically significant reductions in global severity ( d = − 0.44), positive symptoms distress ( d = − 0.54), obsessive compulsive symptoms ( d = − 0.65), paranoid ideation ( d = − 0.49), and psychoticism ( d = − 0.71). Positive symptoms, somatization, depression, hostility, and mindfulness non-significantly improved with small effect sizes. These findings suggest that IRT may improve symptoms of mental illness among youth in detention facilities.