Bullying Prevention in Preschoolers: Mindfulness Interventions Effect on Emotion Regulation

Occupational Therapy

The purpose of our study was to examine the effect of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on emotion regulation (ER) in preschoolers. We predicted that teaching preschoolers MBIs would positively influence their ER with the overall goal of promoting healthy interactions with peers and reducing the prevalence of bullying behaviors. Participants in our study included classroom teachers and caregivers of preschool children who participated in virtual group programs conducted by OT graduate students. One group of children (control) participated in a 4-week program teaching ER strategies using the Zones of Regulation (Zones) program. The other group (experimental) participated in a 4-week program teaching ER strategies using the Zones program along with additional mindfulness-based activities. Pre-test and post-test questionnaires were used to gather information from the teachers and parents/caregivers about the language, strategies, and actions/behaviors related to ER that the children demonstrated. The control group teacher questionnaire showed students increased use of emotion regulation (Zones) language, increased use of mindfulness strategies, showed decreased positive behaviors, and no change in negative behaviors. No data was collected from the control group caregivers, as they chose not to participate. Results from the experimental group teacher questionnaire showed students increased use of emotion regulation (Zones) language, decreased use of mindfulness strategies, showed no change in positive behaviors, and showed decreased negative behaviors. The experimental group caregiver questionnaire showed students decreased use of emotion regulation (Zones) language, increased use of mindfulness strategies, showed decreased positive behaviors, and showed increased negative behaviors. In conclusion, MBI showed no effect on ER. This could be due to the limitations which included limited parent/caregiver participation, language barriers, duration of the program, mode of program delivery (virtual only), and stressors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further research is recommended given evidence of the positive impact of MBI on ER supported in recent literature.