AI Insight
This study examined the effects of an 8-week mindfulness-informed psychoeducational intervention integrated into physical education classes on aggression and impulsivity in 39 high school students. Students who participated in twice-weekly mindfulness sessions showed significant reductions in verbal aggression (33.5%), physical aggression (32.4%), hostility, non-planned impulsivity (13.1%), and total impulsivity (10.5%) compared to a control group following standard PE curriculum. The mindfulness intervention combined focused attention, conscious breathing, and body awareness with sport psychology strategies like positive affirmations and performance imagery.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that brief mindfulness practices can be feasibly integrated into existing PE curricula to help reduce problematic behaviors in adolescents without requiring additional class time or resources. The intervention may offer schools a practical approach to addressing behavioral regulation challenges that affect academic performance and social interactions.
Understand the Science
Aggression and impulsivity are prevalent behavioral tendencies in adolescents that may negatively affect academic performance, social interactions, and engagement during physical education (PE). Although mindfulness-based interventions have shown promise for improving emotional and behavioral regulation, evidence of their effectiveness when delivered within school PE settings remains limited. This study investigated the effects of an 8–week mindfulness-informed psychoeducational intervention delivered during PE lessons on self–reported aggression and impulsivity among high school students. Thirty-nine students (16.05 ± 0.55 years; 51% boys) were randomly assigned to either a mindfulness group (n = 20) or a control group (n = 19). The mindfulness group participated in two brief sessions per week incorporating mindfulness-oriented practices, including focused attention, conscious breathing, and body awareness, together with psychoeducational and sport-related psychological strategies, including positive affirmations, self-encouragement, and performance imagery, whereas the control group followed the standard PE curriculum. General self-reported aggression and impulsivity were assessed before and after the intervention using the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11). Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance and effect sizes. Significant group–by–time interactions were observed for verbal aggression, physical aggression, hostility, non-planned impulsivity, and total impulsivity, indicating that changes over time differed between the mindfulness and control groups for these outcomes. The direction of these interactions was characterized by reductions in verbal aggression (-33.5%), physical aggression (-32.4%), non-planned impulsivity (-13.1%), and total impulsivity (-10.5%) in the mindfulness group, while the control group showed increases in verbal aggression and hostility and no significant improvements in impulsivity. Although motor impulsivity decreased by 11.6% within the mindfulness group, the group–by–time interaction. was not significant; therefore, this within-group change was not interpreted as evidence of a differential intervention effect. These findings suggest that a brief mindfulness-informed psychoeducational intervention delivered during PE lessons was associated with differential changes in verbal aggression, physical aggression, hostility, non-planned impulsivity, and total impulsivity relative to the control condition. These findings support the potential feasibility of integrating mindfulness-informed psychoeducational strategies within school PE while recognizing that the outcomes assessed general dispositions rather than behaviors occurring specifically during PE lessons.