Mindfulness-based Program for Children With Disruptive Behavior Disorder

• Change in children's mindfulness abilities[ Time Frame: One week before the start of the intervention, one week after the end of the intervention, and 6 months after the end of the intervention. ]
  Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure The CAMM is a recently developed questionnaire that assesses present-moment awareness and non-judgmental, non-avoidant responses to thoughts and feelings in children and adolescents (i.e., "I keep myself busy so I don't notice my thoughts or feelings"), and the ten items are rated on a fivepoint scale. The CAMM has been shown to be reliable (α= 0.81), and positive correlations have been shown with quality of life, social skills, and academic performance. Negative correlations were shown with somatic complaints, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms (Greco et al. 2011).
• Change in parents' mindfulness abilities[ Time Frame: One week before the start of the intervention, one week after the end of the intervention, and 6 months after the end of the intervention. ]
  Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire The FFMQ is a 39-item questionnaire that measures five facets of mindfulness (Baer et al., 2006): observing (8 items, e.g., I notice the smells and aromas of things), describing (8 items, e.g., I'm good at finding the words to describe my feelings), acting with awareness (8 items; e.g., I am easily distracted), nonjudging (8 items, e.g., I criticize myself for having irrational or inappropriate emotions), and nonreactivity (7 items; e.g., I watch my feelings without getting lost in them). Participants were asked to rate the degree to which each statement is true for them. Items were scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (never or very rarely true) to 5 (very often or always true). Facet scores were computed by summing the scores on the individual items. Facet scores range from 8 to 40 (except for the nonreactivity facet, which ranges from 7 to 35), with higher scores indicating more mindfulness.
• Change in children's anxiety traits[ Time Frame: One week before the start of the intervention, one week after the end of the intervention, and 6 months after the end of the intervention. ]
  Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) is a 39-item, 4-point Likert self-report scale that robustly represents the factor structure of anxiety in children aged 8 to 18 years. MASC main and subfactors include (a) physical symptoms (tense/restless and somatic/autonomic), (b) harm avoidance (anxious coping and perfectionism), (c) social anxiety (humiliation/rejection and public performance fears), and (d) separation anxiety.
• Change in parenting practices[ Time Frame: One week before the start of the intervention, one week after the end of the intervention, and 6 months after the end of the intervention. ]
  Alabama Parenting Questionnaire The APQ is a 42-item measure on which parents were asked to indicate the frequency with which they implemented a range of parenting practices on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). The subfactors include: a) positive parenting, b) parental involvement, c) inconsistent discipline, d) corporal punishment.
• Change in parents' stress[ Time Frame: One week before the start of the intervention, one week after the end of the intervention, and 6 months after the end of the intervention. ]
  Parenting Stress Index The PSI-SF is a 36- item questionnaire designed to measure stress in the parent-child system and identify those families most in need of follow-up services. The PSI-SF consists of three subscales: Parental Distress, Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction, and Difficult Child. Each subscale consists of 12 items rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Subscale scores therefore range from 12 to 60, whereas the total score ranges from 36 to 180. High scores on the subscales and PSI-SF total score indicate greater levels of stress.

The present RCT study investigates whether combined mindfulness program for children and their parents was beneficial for Italian children, aged 8-12, with disruptive behavior diagnosis (DBD). The study tests the program effects on children's behavioral difficulties in school and home contexts; children's and parents' mindfulness abilities; children's impulsiveness; and parents' stress. The study include a sample of 60 children randomly allocate to the intervention or to the control condition (wait-list control sample). Repeated measures of children's and parents' and teachers' reported measures will be used.

• Behavioral: Mindfulness-based program
  The program includes 9 mindfulness-based sessions for children and their parents.

• Experimental: Mindfulness-based program
  Children and parents receive the program
• No Intervention: Waiting-list
  Children and parents receive no-interventions.