Clinical trial NCT00792116: The Effects of Gum Chewing on Math Scores in Adolescents
Official title: The Effects of Gum Chewing on Standardized Math Scores in Adolescents
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Academic Achievement in Math
Lead sponsor: Baylor College of Medicine
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: The Children's Nutrition Research Center
First posted: 2008-11-17
Enrollment: 108
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 13
Maximum age (years): 16
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Context: Gum chewing has been shown to increase cognitive functioning. With the rise in standardized testing of school-age children and the concurrent attempts to improve their scores, finding simple and inexpensive methods to bolster performance is needed.

Objective: To examine the effects of gum chewing on standardized test scores and class grades in a group of 8th grade math students.

Design: Math classes were randomized to a gum chewing (GC) condition that provided students with gum during class and testing, or a control condition with no gum (NG) provided during class and testing. This study was conducted during the Spring 2008 school semester.

Setting: A charter school in Houston, TX.

Participants: All students enrolled in eighth grade math at the charter school were approached for recruitment in this study. A total of 108 (94%) students participated. Participants were between the ages of 13 and 16.

Main Outcome Measures: The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ-III), and math class grades were used to assess any differences in academic performance between the GC and NGC conditions. For purposes of this study, only the math sections of the WJ-III and TAKS, which are both standardized tests, were assessed.

Our primary hypothesis was that adolescents in a gum chewing (GC) condition would have significantly improved standardized test scores and math grades compared to adolescents in a non-gum chewing (NG) control condition.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Enrollment in eight grade math class

Exclusion Criteria:

* Parents did not consent to participation

Primary outcomes:
measure: Math Scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS)
timeFrame: the beginning of a school semester
measure: Math Grades
timeFrame: baseline (the beginning of a school semester )
measure: Math Scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS).
timeFrame: 14 weeks (end of the semester)
measure: Math Grades
timeFrame: 14 week (end of the semester)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Math Scores on the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ-III)
timeFrame: the beginning of a school semester and 14 weeks later (the end of a school semester)
measure: Scores on the Math Anxiety Rating Scale for Adolescents (MARS-A)
timeFrame: the beginning of a school semester and 14 weeks later (the end of a school semester)
measure: State Anxiety Scores on the State Trait Anxiety Index for Children (STAIC).
timeFrame: the beginning of a school semester and 14 weeks later (the end of a school semester)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
Study officials:
References:
citation: Johnston CA, Tyler C, Stansberry SA, Moreno JP, Foreyt JP. Brief report: gum chewing affects standardized math scores in adolescents. J Adolesc. 2012 Apr;35(2):455-9. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.04.003. Epub 2011 May 26.