Curriculum Evaluation of a Novel Health and Wellness Program Within New York City Schools

The purpose of this study is to compare the academic and psycho-social benefits of a yoga-informed health and wellness program (HWP) to a standard physical education program for middle and high school students within New York City (NYC) schools.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Adolescent Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Yoga-informed Health and Wellness Program; Behavioral: Physical Education Class

Detailed Description

Approximately 100 students at a public New York City High School will be randomized at the level of class into either the experimental (yoga-informed health and wellness program) or control arm (physical education class). Students will receive two classes per week of approximately 45 minutes throughout the academic year. Data will be collected in September 2014 and February and May of 2015.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 112
• Phase: Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10009
      • Eastside Community High School

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 19 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• • Male or female students attending NYC schools

Exclusion Criteria:

• Lack of permission to attend physical education class

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Health and Wellness program; Behavioral intervention	Behavioral: Yoga-informed Health and Wellness Program; The HWP will be comprised of physical postures, breathing exercises, a period of sitting in stillness (meditation) and relaxation provided two times per week, 45 minutes per session, for the entire school year (Sept. - June).
Active Comparator: Physical Education Class; Behavioral intervention	Behavioral: Physical Education Class; Standard physical education

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Academic Performance: Grade Point Averages	GPA was calculated as the numeric average of course scores of all courses taken by the student weighted by credit load of each course using a standard process within NYC public schools.	1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Response to Stress Questionnaire (RSQ)	A 57-item self-report questionnaire that was used as a measure of emotional regulation We examined two of the five constructs (24 of the 57 items) within the RSQ as these were most directly theoretically relevant to expected changes due to yoga practice: voluntary engagement and involuntary engagement. Higher values represent higher levels of negative stress responses. Values for the voluntary engagement subscale represent the mean value across 9 questions on the survey and values for the involuntary subscale represent the mean value across 15 questions on the survey. Values for each item range from 0-3, trherefore the total mean values reported as outcomes range from 0-3.	1 year
Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale	A 14 item self-report measure assessing subjective well-being (1-5 scale). Higher values represent more positive mental well being. The summary measure is a sum of the 14 questions (not a mean). Summary values therefore range from 14-70.	1 year

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self Report Questionnaire (Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure)	A 10 item self-report measure assessing mindfulness skills (Scale 1-4). Items are reverse scored and summed (not mean). Higher scores mean more positive mindfulness skills. Min and maximum scores are 0-40.	1 year
Student Self-Report Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function	An 80 item self-report questionnaire assessing executive function and self regulation. The BRIEF-SR measures 8 non-overlapping clinical scales that measure different aspects of executive functioning with the Inhibit, Shift, Emotional control and Monitor subscales combining to create a Behavioral Regulation Index (BRI) and the Working Memory, Plan/Organize, Organization of Materials and Task Completion combining to create a Meta Cognition Index. These two indices combine to create a Global Executive Composite (GEC). Only the GEC was used within this study for analysis. Raw scores were converted to T scores (using gender and age for population norms) wherein a score of 50 represents the mean and a difference of 10 from the mean indicates a difference of one standard deviation.	1 year
Teacher Report Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function	Teacher reported 87 item questionnaire on students executive function and self regulation. The BRIEF for teachers measures 8 non-overlapping theoretically and empirically derived clinical scales that measure different aspects of executive functioning with the Inhibit, Shift, Emotional control and Monitor subscales combining to create a Behavioral Regulation Index (BRI) and the Working Memory, Plan/Organize, Organization of Materials and Task Completion combining to create a Meta Cognition Index. These two indices combine to create a Global Executive Composite (GEC). Only the GEC was used within this study for analysis Raw scores were converted to T scores (using gender and age for population norms) wherein a score of 50 represents the mean and a difference of 10 from the mean indicates a difference of one standard deviation.	One year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Long Island University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Marshall Hagins, PhD, Long Island University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): August 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 29, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 30, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): December 31, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): November 4, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 17, 2016
• Last Verified: September 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: stress; self-regulation; alternative; complementary
• Other Study ID Numbers: SONIMA001