The effectiveness of child-centered mindfulness training on emotion management and loneliness in children with mild physical disabilities

Abstract :

The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of child-centered mindfulness training on emotion management and loneliness in primary school children with mild physical disabilities. The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and a follow-up period of one and half month. The statistical population of children with mild physical disabilities (9-12 years old) Schools for children with physical problems of Isfahan city in 2023-2024. 30 children with mild physical disabilities were selected using Purposeful sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups (15 people each). The tools used included the Emotion Management Inventory (Shields and Kikti, 1998) and the Loneliness Scale (Asher et al., 1984). The experimental group received child-centered mindfulness training in ten sessions that each session was 60-minute session during 10 weeks (per week one session) while the control group was placed on a waiting list for the training. The collected data were analyzed using by repeated measure analysis of variance in   SPSS-26. The findings showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in mean of emotion management and loneliness (P <0.001). Therefore, in accordance with the research findings, child-centered mindfulness training can be suggested as an efficient method to improve emotion management and reduce loneliness in children with physical disabilities.

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