Class of 2025: Doctor of Education graduate addresses rising adolescent anxiety and depression

Researchers and policy makers alike are concerned as rates of adolescent anxiety, depression and loneliness continue to rise.

Low self-confidence and poor emotional regulation skills were challenges Werklund School of Education doctoral candidate Carolyn McLeod witnessed firsthand as an educator at Cochrane High School.

“As a classroom teacher with over three decades of experience, I had observed a recent increase in internalizing behaviours – withdrawal and avoidance – and externalizing behaviours – outbursts and aggression – as well as learning gaps, particularly with our Grade nine population.”

• Read more profiles of amazing Class of 2025 graduates 

McLeod, who will receive her Doctor of Education at the June 10 convocation ceremony, says emerging research on social-emotional learning and mindfulness practices are revealing positive effects on adolescent wellbeing and should be included in school curriculum. 

“Adding social and emotional literacy instruction to the playbook of numerical, language and physical literacy is essential to the effective development of the whole child, particularly during these times of uncertainty and elevated levels of stress.”

Heart-focused breathing 

When asked, she readily agreed to develop a positive psychology option class during which Grade nine students could build skills for managing and regulating their mental and emotional stress. Under her guidance, students were provided with a nonjudgmental space where they could share their experiences with mindfulness, focused attention and other social-emotional learning activities. 

Along with units on emotion regulation, coping strategies and memory and study skills, McLeod employed sustained heart-focused breathing; a practice involving breathing slowly and deeply while focusing attention on the heart area.

For 12 weeks, participants engaged in this exercise during the first five minutes of class while connected to HeartMath sensors that provided biofeedback in the form of heart rate variability (HRV). Simply put, higher HRV means higher cognitive and behavioural self-regulatory capacity. Exactly what students required.

Building confidence and control

Assessing the effectiveness of teaching social-emotional learning and mindfulness with biofeedback was the topic of McLeod’s doctoral thesis. 

Students in the psychology class had the option to participate in the transdisciplinary study and data collected throughout the semester revealed a significant rise in HRV.

“Surveys found that students in the experimental group increased social awareness, focused attention, positive affect and coping self-efficacy, while decreasing feelings of anxiety in a variety of situations over time,” says McLeod.

Understandably, students were still experiencing anxiety and stress, however practicing mindful breathing every day helped them feel calmer, more emotionally regulated, focused and better able to handle the stressors in their life.

McLeod believes students have a lot to be concerned about and that anxiety becomes problematic when they lack strong coping strategies. She recommends offering the positive psychology course as an option in every high school.

“Teaching our students what anxiety feels like, where it comes from, and how to calm down their nervous system from the breath to the heart to the brain gives them the confidence and control they need to reign in their wild horses and enjoy the ride.”