Jurnal Pengabdian UNDIKMA
Vol. 7 No. 3 (2026): August (IN PRESS)

Enhancing Emotion Regulation among Orphanage Adolescents through Mindfulness Training and Expressive Writing: A Community Service Initiative

Muhammad Habib Alwi (Universitas Negeri Padang)
Tuti Rahmi (Universitas Negeri Padang)



Article Info

Publish Date
09 Aug 2026

Abstract

This community service program aims to improve emotion regulation among adolescents residing in an orphanage through mindfulness training and expressive writing while evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a control group was employed involving 35 adolescents aged 12–18 years, who were allocated to a mindfulness group (n = 13), an expressive writing group (n = 12), and a control group (n = 10). The interventions were delivered through brief, structured group sessions facilitated within the orphanage setting. Emotion regulation was assessed using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), adapted from Gross and John (2003), which measures the dimensions of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Data were analyzed using Welch's ANOVA followed by the Games-Howell post hoc test. Pretest scores showed no significant differences among the groups, indicating comparable baseline conditions. In contrast, posttest results revealed significant between-group differences, with both intervention groups achieving significantly higher emotion regulation scores than the control group, whereas no significant difference was found between the mindfulness and expressive writing groups. These findings suggest that mindfulness training and expressive writing are practical, low-cost psychosocial interventions for strengthening emotion regulation among adolescents in orphanage settings. Although the program was limited by a relatively small sample size, the quasi-experimental design, a short intervention period, and the absence of follow-up assessment, both interventions demonstrate potential for integration into routine psychosocial services through basic training for caregivers and orphanage staff, thereby supporting sustainable implementation with minimal resources.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jpu

Publisher

Subject

Religion Agriculture, Biological Sciences & Forestry Humanities Decision Sciences, Operations Research & Management Economics, Econometrics & Finance Education Environmental Science Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Library & Information Science Mathematics Nursing Public Health Social Sciences Other

Description

The aim of this journal publication is to disseminate the conceptual thoughts or ideas and research results that have been achieved in the area of community services. JPU, particularly focuses on the main problems in the development of the sciences of community services areas as follows: Education ...