It “could be an easy and inexpensive way to decrease aggression and abnormal behavior among preschool children,” according to researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden.

First, the details.

• 110 children 4- to 5-years-old, with aggression and deviant (abnormal) behavior at day-care centers were studied for 12 months.
• Children were assigned to one of 2 groups.
• Daily massage in preschool at the midday rest.
• Listening to a story (control).
• The Child Behavior Checklist was used to rate the children’s behavior before the treatment started, and after 3 and 6 months.
• A long-term evaluation was carried out in the 34 massaged children still in daycare after 12 months.

And, the results.

• Massage and/or extra attention in children with the greatest behavior problems resulted in a significant decrease in aggression after 3 months.
• But after 6 months significantly improvement was found only in massage-treated abnormal children.
• Parents of massaged children reported a significant decrease of physical problems.
• Social problems in massaged children decreased compared to the control group.
• And attention problems tended to decrease, especially at home.
• Over 12 months there was a continuous decrease in aggressive behavior and physical problems in massaged children.

The bottom line?
These results support a 16-year-old study in 52 hospitalized depressed and adjustment disorder children and adolescents. Compared with a control group that viewed relaxing videotapes, a 30-minute back massage over 5 days resulted in less depression and anxiousness. There were also lower saliva cortisol levels — suggesting less stress — after the massage.

9/13/08 20:42 JR