Mind wandering in adolescents: Evidence, challenges and future directions

The chapter presents a review of the existing literature on mind-wandering in adolescents, addressing some relevant and controversial issues, related to the association between mind-wandering, cognitive control, and negative mood. The existing studies show that mind-wandering in adolescents is not a mere failure of attentional control and that it is not detrimental per se. The authors stress (i) the necessity of a clear operational definition of MW, which distinguishes MW from other kinds of lapse of attention, and (ii) the usefulness of a multidimensional approach to MW, based on the recognition of the heterogeneity of MW, in terms of both mechanisms and contents. Finally, some lines of research and future developments are encouraged, especially with regard to educational and psychological interventions.