Eight-Week Mindfulness Training Effectively Improves Performance in Children with ADHD: A Comparison with Cognitive-Behavioral Training

Background: This study compared the effects of mindfulness training (MT) and cognitive-behavioral training (CBT) on ADHD symptoms, test anxiety, and self-concept in children with ADHD and explored potential pathways of change associated with the two interventions. Methods: After a two-stage screening and eligibility confirmation procedure, 63 children with ADHD were included in the final analyses, including 19 in the MT group, 25 in the CBT group, and 19 in the control group. The MT and CBT groups received an eight-week intervention, whereas the control group continued regular classroom activities. ADHD symptoms, test anxiety, and self-concept were assessed before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using 3 × 2 repeated-measures ANOVA and exploratory cross-lagged analyses. Results: Significant Group × Time interactions were found for ADHD symptoms, F(2, 60) = 29.74, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.5; test anxiety, F(2, 60) = 7.77, p = 0.001, ηp2 = 0.21; and self-concept, F(2, 60) = 18.9, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.39. Simple effects analyses showed that both the MT and CBT groups showed significant reductions in ADHD symptoms and test anxiety and significant improvements in self-concept, whereas the control group showed no significant pretest-to-posttest changes. Exploratory cross-lagged analyses showed different patterns of association between ADHD symptoms and test anxiety in the two intervention groups. Conclusions: Both MT and CBT were associated with improvements in ADHD symptoms, test anxiety, and self-concept in children with ADHD. The exploratory pathway findings suggest that the two interventions may be linked to partly different patterns of change. However, further studies are needed to verify these preliminary findings.