Health and Quality of Life Outcomes BioMed Central Research Open Access Impact of stress reduction on negative school behavior in adolescents Vernon A Barnes*1,2, Lynnette B Bauza2 and Frank A Treiber1,2,3 Address: 1Georgia Institute for Prevention of Human Diseases and Accidents, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912, USA, 2Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912, USA and 3Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912, USA Email: Vernon A Barnes* - vbarnes@; Lynnette B Bauza - lbauza@; Frank A Treiber - ftreiber@ * Corresponding author Published: 23 April 2003 Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2003, 1:10 This article is available. | BioMed Central Health and Quality of Life Outcomes Research Impact of stress reduction on negative school behavior in adolescents Vernon A Barnes 1 2 Lynnette B Bauza2 and Frank ATreiber1 2 3 Open Access Address 1Georgia Institute for Prevention of Human Diseases and Accidents Medical College of Georgia Augusta GA 30912 USA 2Department of Pediatrics Medical College of Georgia Augusta GA 30912 USA and 3Department of Psychiatry Medical College of Georgia Augusta GA 30912 USA Email Vernon A Barnes - vbarnes@ Lynnette B Bauza - lbauza@ Frank ATreiber - ftreiber@ Corresponding author Published 23 April 2003 Received 31 January 2003 Accepted 23 April 2003 Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2003 1 10 This article is available from http content 1 1 10 2003 Barnes et al licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose provided this notice is preserved along with the article s original URL. Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of stress reduction via the Transcendental Meditation program on school rule infractions in adolescents. Methods Forty-five African American adolescents ages 15-18 years with high normal systolic blood pressure were randomly assigned to either Transcendental Meditation n 25 or health education control n 20 groups. The meditation group engaged in 15-min sessions at home and at school each day for 4 months. The control group was presented 15-min sessions of health education at school each day for 4 months. Primary outcome measures were changes in absenteeism school rule infractions and suspension days during the four-month pretest period prior to randomization compared with the four-month intervention period. Results Comparing the pretest and intervention periods the meditation group exhibited a mean decrease of absentee periods compared to an increase of .
