Simpson Sharon, Mercer Stewart, Simpson Robert, Lawrence Maggie, Wyke Sally
1General Practice and Primary Care, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 9LX UK.
2School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, Scotland G4 0BA UK.
Mindfulness (N Y). 2018;9(5):1330-1343. doi: 10.1007/s12671-018-0892-5. Epub 2018 Feb 21.
Youth offending is a problem worldwide. Young people in the criminal justice system have frequently experienced adverse childhood circumstances, mental health problems, difficulties regulating emotions and poor quality of life. Mindfulness-based interventions can help people manage problems resulting from these experiences, but their usefulness for youth offending populations is not clear. This review evaluated existing evidence for mindfulness-based interventions among such populations. To be included, each study used an intervention with at least one of the three core components of mindfulness-based stress reduction (breath awareness, body awareness, mindful movement) that was delivered to young people in prison or community rehabilitation programs. No restrictions were placed on methods used. Thirteen studies were included: three randomized controlled trials, one controlled trial, three pre-post study designs, three mixed-methods approaches and three qualitative studies. Pooled numbers ( = 842) comprised 99% males aged between 14 and 23. Interventions varied so it was not possible to identify an optimal approach in terms of content, dose or intensity. Studies found some improvement in various measures of mental health, self-regulation, problematic behaviour, substance use, quality of life and criminal propensity. In those studies measuring mindfulness, changes did not reach statistical significance. Qualitative studies reported participants feeling less stressed, better able to concentrate, manage emotions and behaviour, improved social skills and that the interventions were acceptable. Generally low study quality limits the generalizability of these findings. Greater clarity on intervention components and robust mixed-methods evaluation would improve clarity of reporting and better guide future youth offending prevention programs.
青少年犯罪是一个全球性问题。刑事司法系统中的年轻人经常经历不良童年境遇、心理健康问题、情绪调节困难和生活质量低下。基于正念的干预措施可以帮助人们应对这些经历所导致的问题，但其对青少年犯罪人群的有效性尚不清楚。本综述评估了此类人群中基于正念的干预措施的现有证据。纳入的每项研究都使用了一种包含基于正念减压的三个核心组成部分（呼吸觉察、身体觉察、正念运动）中至少一个的干预措施，并将其应用于监狱中的年轻人或社区康复项目。对所使用的方法没有限制。共纳入13项研究：三项随机对照试验、一项对照试验、三项前后研究设计、三项混合方法研究和三项定性研究。汇总人数（n = 842）中99%为14至23岁的男性。干预措施各不相同，因此无法在内容、剂量或强度方面确定最佳方法。研究发现，在心理健康、自我调节、问题行为、物质使用、生活质量和犯罪倾向的各项测量指标上有一些改善。在那些测量正念的研究中，变化未达到统计学显著性。定性研究报告称，参与者感到压力减轻、更能集中注意力、更好地管理情绪和行为、社交技能得到改善，并且这些干预措施是可接受的。总体而言，研究质量较低限制了这些发现的普遍性。干预组成部分的更清晰界定和强有力的混合方法评估将提高报告的清晰度，并更好地指导未来的青少年犯罪预防项目。
