Determining the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on Self-worth and Social Development in Male Students of Elementary Schools

Human learning and its factors in educational environments are a topic that most educational experts and researchers emphasize its importance. One of the variables that affects students in mindfulness training is self–worth. Self–worth plays a decisive role in competition and the feeling of sufficiency at work. Another variable that affects students in mindfulness training is social development. One of the obvious characteristics of students affected by anxiety is an inability to establish effective and satisfactory relationships with peers. Therefore, it is necessary to find a way that enables students to express their emotions in a way other than the verbal expression and to learn social skills. One of the interventions based on mindfulness that has received a lot of attention is mindfulness training. So, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness training on self–worth and social development in students.

This research is quasi–experimental with a pretest–posttest design with a control group. The study's statistical population included all male elementary school students in District 2 of Sari City, Iran (7652 students). Next, a sample of 30 students was selected by the available sampling method from all male elementary school students. They were randomly divided into two groups of 15 students (mindfulness training and control group). The required number of samples was calculated based on similar studies, considering the effect size of 0.40, confidence level of 0.95, test power of 0.80, and the rate of loss of 10% for each group of 15 people. The mindfulness–based cognitive therapy experimental group was set up in 8 90–minute sessions. In contrast, the control group remained on the waiting list. The inclusion criteria included male students, primary education in the second district of Sari, informed consent with the research, and not participating in other educational and medical classes simultaneously. The exclusion criteria included the absence of more than two sessions in training classes. Data were collected using a Self–Worth Scale (Crocker et al., 2003) and a Vineland Social Maturity Scale (Sparrow et al., 1984). Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics (prevalence, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (using univariate analysis of covariance) at a significance level of 0.05 in SPSS version 22 software.

The results showed that mindfulness training led to a significant increase in self–worth (p=0.002) and social development (p=0.003) in male students of the experimental group compared to the control group. The effect of the intervention on the variables of self–worth and social development was obtained as 0.47 and 0.38, respectively.

Based on the research findings, mindfulness training can increase students' self–worth and social development in psychology and counseling centers.