There is supportive evidence of mindful movement-based practices offering benefits for neurodevelopment and self-regulation, particularly for children in urban environments. However, this evidence has principally stemmed from subjective measures of behavioral changes, leaving the underlying mechanism under-investigated. The present study served as a follow-up to Rice et al. 2022 to replicate and extend evidence of the efficacy of an in-school mindful movement intervention (MMI) in improvement of behavioral, cognitive, and motor control as well as social-emotional control for youth in an urban public school.  

2^nd and 3^rd grade students (n=35) at a public charter school located in Baltimore, MD, USA completed an in-school group-based MMI twice per week for 8 months. The MMI included lessons involving a modified Tai Chi sequence, yoga and biomechanical warm-ups, imaginative play, and reflection. Subjective (questionnaire) and objective (performance-based) measures were collected pre- and post-MMI including: (1) Parent ratings of social-emotional (Social-Emotional Assets and Resilience Scales (SEARS)), ADHD-related traits (Strengths and Weaknesses of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms and Normal Behavior Scale (SWAN)) as well as ADHD symptoms (DuPaul) and (2) Objective measures of cognitive (Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Trails Making Test) and motor (Physical and Neurological Examination of Subtle Signs (PANESS)) control.

Participants displayed improvements across all four measures. Effect sizes are reported in terms of partial eta-squared, whereby small effects = 0.01, medium = 0.06, and large = 0.14. Following MMI, we saw patterns of improvement in subjective measures of social-emotional control on the SEARS (self-regulation/responsibility (p= .155, η_p²= 0.30) and empathy (p= .143, η_p²= 0.38) and ADHD-related traits on the SWAN, including slowed cognitive tempo (p=.036, η_p²= 0.44), and marginal effects for inattentive (p= .086, η_p²= 0.38),  hyperactive (p= .123, η_p² = 0.33), and oppositional/disruptive behaviors (p= .100, η_p² = 0.32). In contrast, there were no changes in the ADHD symptom measure (DuPaul: p<.801, η_p² < 0.06).  Additionally, there were significant improvements in objective measures of cognitive control on the D-KEFS Trails Making Test (number-letter switching, p=.04, η_p²= 0.50) and motor control on the PANESS (timed tongue overflow, p=.01, η_p²= 0.47 and dysrhythmia, p=.006, η_p²= 0.58).

Consistent with previous findings (Rice et al. 2022), MMI was associated with improvement in measures of behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and motor control. This follow-up investigation extends previous findings as students also showed improvement in social-emotional control. This study supplies further evidence of the efficacy and feasibility of an in-school MMI in an urban environment. It also demonstrates the utility of the SWAN, assessing positive and negative aspects of ADHD traits, over traditional ADHD symptom measures, focused on negative aspects only, in community samples.