A Yoga Intervention for Young Children: Self-Regulation and Emotion Regulation
Author: Roxanne N Rashedi1, Susan E Rowe2, Ross A Thompson3, Emily J Solari4, Kimberly A Schonert-Reichl5
Affiliation:
1 School of Engineering, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235 USA.
2 School of Education, University of California, Davis, CA USA.
3 Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA USA.
4 Department of Curriculum Instruction and Special Education, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA USA.
5 Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL United States.
Conference/Journal: J Child Fam Stud
Date published: 2021 Jun 9
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1007/s10826-021-01992-6. , Word Count: 196
Yoga-based interventions have been implemented in schools and demonstrated promising results on students' self-regulation outcomes. Nevertheless, there is limited literature on the effects that yoga may have for children in the early primary grades, despite the evidence demonstrating that this is an opportune period in development for early self-regulation. Few studies have focused on young children living in the context of economic difficulty, which can hinder children's development of self-regulatory skills and educational trajectories. The effects of an eight-week yoga intervention on economically disadvantaged pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children's self-regulation and emotion regulation were examined via a paired within-subjects comparison study. Nine classrooms were assigned to the yoga intervention (Treatment First, TxFirst; n = 90) or a wait-list control group (Treatment Second, TxSecond; n = 64). All children were assessed at pre-intervention (Time 1), post-intervention assessment for TxFirst (Time 2), and post-intervention assessment for TxSecond (Time 3). Children demonstrated significant predicted gains on a behavioral task of self-regulation and declines in teacher-rated submissive venting and total behavior problems. Implications for future research are discussed, with a focus on including follow-up assessments and multiple dimensions of fidelity of implementation.
Keywords: Children; Contemplative practices; Emotion regulation; Self-regulation; Yoga.
PMID: 34127901 PMCID: PMC8188743 DOI: 10.1007/s10826-021-01992-6
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