Comparing the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Children (MBCT-C) to traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), for prevention of internalizing difficulties in upper Primary School children.

INTERVENTION: MBCT‐C Children's Program Description MBCT‐C includes many different activities designed to help children bring their attention to the present moment, as research has shown that this may have benefits such as reducing worrying or anxious thoughts. Activities include short meditation practices, and bringing mindful attention to eating, touch, sounds, sights and smell. Children are also taught through experiential exercises to observe and understand the link between their thoughts, emotions, body sensations and behaviours. The children's program implementation will be consistent with a 10‐week program implemented in Primary Schools (Wright, Roberts, & Proeve, 2019), and this was based on an amended version of the original program (Semple & Lee, 2011). For reference, the key amendment was shortening the program (removing content) to reduce the program length from 12, to the current 10‐week version. All changes were made in line with the program author's guidance. Children participate in 10 x weekly sessions, in groups of up to 12 children. Each session is 1 hr 15 mins, to 1 hr 30 mins. Program duration is 10 weeks. Groups will be facilitated by psychologists: 1 registered psychologist working with 1 provisionally registered psychologist. Psychologists will be supervised by a Senior Clinical Psychologist from the University of Adelaide. Children's session attendance is recorded according to the program manual (the "Being Present" board; Semple & Lee, 2011). A key part of the MBCT‐C program is short daily activities for the children to complete at home, and parents are invited to assist their child with these home practices. They are usually less than 3 minutes per activity, around three times per day. Examples include mindful breathing, mindful smellin CONDITION: anxiety;depression;attention difficulties;self‐compassion;mindfulness;strength (conflict and closeness) of the parent‐child relationship; ; anxiety ; depression ; attention difficulties ; self‐compassion ; mindfulness ; strength (conflict and closeness) of the parent‐child relationship Mental Health ‐ Anxiety Mental Health ‐ Depression PRIMARY OUTCOME: Children: between‐group change in anxiety symptoms as measured by the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale‐25 (RCADS‐25‐C; Ebesutani et al., 2012)[Baseline, post‐intervention (within 4 weeks of program completion), 3‐, 6‐, 12‐, and 18‐months post‐intervention. The primary time‐point is post‐intervention. ] Children: between‐group change in depression symptoms as measured by the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale‐25 (RCADS‐25‐C; Ebesutani et al., 2012). [Baseline, post‐intervention (within 4 weeks of program completion), 3‐, 6‐, 12‐, and 18‐months post‐intervention. The primary time‐point is post‐intervention. ] INCLUSION CRITERIA: Children aged 9‐12 years, who appear to be: worrying a lot, being very quiet or shy, feeling down a lot of the time, or appearing to be anxious. Parent/guardian: being a parent or guardian of a child who is eligible for and enrolled in the current trial. SECONDARY OUTCOME: Adults: between‐group change in the Child‐Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS; Driscoll & Pianta, 2011)[Baseline, post‐intervention (within 4 weeks of program completion), 3‐, 6‐, 12‐, and 18‐months post‐intervention.] Adults: between‐group change in the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS; Crawford & Henry, 2003)[Baseline, post‐intervention (within 4 weeks of program completion), 3‐, 6‐, 12‐, and 18‐months post‐intervention.] Adults: between‐group change in the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer et al., 2008)[Baseline, post‐intervention (within 4 weeks of program completion), 3‐, 6‐, 12‐, and 18‐months post‐intervention.] Between‐group differences for child program evaluation questionnaires (adapted from R J Semple & Lee, 2014). [Post‐intervention only (within 4 weeks of program completion)] Between‐group differences for parent program evaluation questionnaires (adapted from R J Semple & Lee, 2014). [Post‐intervention only (within 4 weeks of program completion)] Children: between‐group change in the Attention Control Scale (ACS; Derryberry & Reed, 2002)[Baseline, post‐intervention (within 4 weeks of program completion), 3‐, 6‐, 12‐, and 18‐months post‐intervention.] Children: between‐group change in the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM; Greco, Baer, & Smith, 2011)[Baseline, post‐intervention (within 4 weeks of program completion), 3‐, 6‐, 12‐, and 18‐months post‐intervention.] Children: between‐group change in the Self‐Compassion Scale for Children (SCS‐C; Sutton, Schonert‐Reichl, Wu, & Lawlor, 2018)[Baseline, post‐intervention (within 4 weeks of program completion), 3‐, 6‐, 12‐, and 18‐months post‐intervention.] Fidelity of implementation assessed using the Session Feedback Forms completed by program facilitators. Session Feedback Forms were designed for a previous RCT of MBCT‐C (Wright, Roberts, & Proeve; Wright et al., 2019). [1 form will be completed per faciliator per session. Descriptive statistics will be analysed by session, and for each program overall. ]