Sitting on a stability ball improves attention span and reduces anxious/depressive symptomatology among grade 2 students: A prospective case-control field experiment

• Study examined use of stability balls as classroom chairs among grade 2 students.
• Students sitting on balls had improved attention after 8 weeks and 5 months.
• Students sitting on balls also had reduced anxiety/depression after 8 weeks.
• Students from control classes showed no significant improvements during this time.
• Social validity demonstrated that the teacher and students preferred the balls.

This study used a prospective matched case-control design to examine the effects of sitting on a stability ball on inattention, hyperactivity, oppositional defiant behaviours, and anxious/depressive symptomatology among 23 experimental and 18 control grade 2 students. Classroom teachers completed the NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale at baseline and 8-weeks (T2) and 5-months (T3) after the experimental group switched to stability balls. Social validity was assessed at year-end. ANCOVAs controlling for baseline scores demonstrated that students in the experimental condition had improved attention at T2 and T3 and reduced anxious/depressive symptoms at T2. All students and the classroom teacher preferred the balls. In conclusion, sitting on stability balls is well received and may represent an effective classroom management strategy for improving attention.