The effects of school-based yoga on the executive functioning skills of children between three and seven years of age. A meta-analysis of existing research

IF 4.6 Q2 MATERIALS SCIENCE, BIOMATERIALS

ACS Applied Bio Materials Pub Date : 2024-10-01 DOI:10.1016/j.mhpa.2024.100643

Katie Wilkin, Georgia Allen-Baker, Claire Thornton

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Abstract

Purpose

Executive functioning is said to be fundamental to human cognition and achievement. This meta-analysis aimed to establish what effect – if any – yoga delivered in school-settings has upon the executive functioning skills of children between three and seven years of age.

Procedure

Databases screened were PubMed Central, Web of Science, CINAHL, Scopus, and PsycARTICLES. Studies involving a yoga-based intervention alongside a control group, and age-appropriate measures of executive functioning were included. In total, seven studies, involving 1080 participants, met the inclusion criteria.

Findings

Meta-analysis of all seven studies demonstrated a significant (p < 0.001) small positive weighted average effect size (Cohen's d) of 0.24 [95% CI 0.10, 0.39], evidencing that yoga may improve the executive functioning skills of children between three and seven years of age. Sub-group meta-analyses to examine the different domains of executive functioning (working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility) revealed a significant (p = 0.007) small positive effect size (Cohen's d) of 0.41 [95% CI 0.11, 0.70] for working memory, and a significant (p = 0.033) marginal positive effect size (Cohen's d) of 0.18 [95% CI 0.01, 0.34] for inhibitory control. However, there were insufficient data for a sub-group meta-analysis of cognitive flexibility.

Conclusions

Results are discussed in the context of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ executive functioning skills. Study limitations are considered, and it is acknowledged that further high-quality research is needed into the effect(s) of school-based yoga on executive functioning within this population before definitive conclusions can be drawn.

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校本瑜伽对 3 至 7 岁儿童执行功能技能的影响。对现有研究的荟萃分析

目的据称，执行功能是人类认知和成就的基础。本荟萃分析旨在确定在学校环境中教授瑜伽对 3 到 7 岁儿童的执行功能技能有何影响（如果有的话）。纳入的研究包括基于瑜伽的干预措施和对照组，以及与年龄相适应的执行功能测量方法。研究结果对所有七项研究进行的荟萃分析表明，加权平均效应大小（Cohen's d）为 0.24 [95% CI 0.10, 0.39]，具有显著性（p < 0.001），证明瑜伽可以改善三至七岁儿童的执行功能。对执行功能的不同领域（工作记忆、抑制控制和认知灵活性）进行的分组荟萃分析显示，工作记忆有显著的（p = 0.007）小正效应（Cohen's d），为 0.41 [95% CI 0.11，0.70]；抑制控制有显著的（p = 0.033）边际正效应（Cohen's d），为 0.18 [95% CI 0.01，0.34]。然而，对认知灵活性进行分组荟萃分析的数据不足。我们考虑了研究的局限性，并承认在得出明确结论之前，还需要进一步开展高质量的研究，以了解校本瑜伽对这一人群的执行功能的影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

ACS Applied Bio Materials Chemistry-Chemistry (all)

CiteScore

9.40

自引率

2.10%

发文量

464