Effect of Mindfulness Intervention on Inattentive Behaviors in Children at Risk for ADHD: A Single-Subject Study

Abstract

Mindfulness is the increased awareness that arises when we pay attention on purpose to the present non-judgmentally. To investigate the influence of mindfulness on inattentive behaviors in children at risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a single-subject A-B-A reversal experimental design was adopted in which two children at risk for ADHD received 6-week mindfulness training, with 20-30 minutes per session and 3-4 times per week. The results based on visual analysis, C-statistics, and social validity analysis showed that mindfulness training was effective in reducing the duration of inattentive behaviors in children at risk for ADHD, and that the training could improve the function of the attention network in these children, which could be reflected in the increased efficiency in the vigilance network and the executive function network.