This project will examine how mindfulness training affects dispositional mindfulness, parental monitoring, a child’s effortful control of attention, and the quality of the parent-child relationship. In addition to how changes in these variables are related to changes in problem behavior. Forty families (with children ages 10-12) will be recruited from a Northwestern city, and half of those participants will be randomly selected to attend an eight-week mindfulness training course based on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and a modification for children. Participants will attend 90-minute classes that will include formal mindfulness practice, yoga, mindful eating, and discussion. All participants will complete self-report measures at three time points (preintervention, postintervention, and two-month follow-up). Children will also complete the Attention Network Task while their brain activity is measured using event-related potential (ERP) techniques. Analyses will examine the effect of the intervention on all outcomes and will examine potential mediators.
