‘Mindfulness’ training improves self-control for youth in jail

The meditation-based therapy known as “mindfulness” training has been found to improve concentration in incarcerated adolescents and increase self-control over emotions and actions.

Researchers from New York University found that the training, in combination with cognitive behavioural therapy, had a protective effect on attention. The approach responded to the childhood psychosocial hardships that many of the youths had experienced, including exposure to violence, poverty and abuse, and found that increased stress - including from ongoing incarceration - was damaging to attention.

The results suggest that improving these processes and alleviating stress may encourage pro-social, law-abiding direction behaviours.