Modifiers and Mechanisms of Loneliness Interventions

July 20, 2026 updated by: Kathi Heffner, University of Rochester
A specific aim of this research is to identify the role of emotion regulation in response to social threat in caregivers' response to a behavioral coaching intervention for loneliness. A second aim of the study is to determine the benefit of a digitized, social engagement prioritization tool for improving coaches' intervention fidelity and caregiver outcomes. This study is funded through the Pilot Award Program of the Rochester Roybal Center for Social Ties & Aging Research, a UR Center funded by the National Institute on Aging by grant P30AG064103.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The objective of this Stage III mechanistic study is to help identify additional modifiable targets and scalable approaches to support further development of highly effective, mechanistic-informed approaches to reducing loneliness and improving social connectedness in caregivers. This study is a Stage III, 19-month 2 (groups) x 2 (assessment timepoints) randomized clinical trial (RCT) aimed at identifying whether lonely caregivers' capacity, is associated with the degree to which loneliness is reduced in response to social engagement intervention (S-ENG). Further, the study will address whether a digitized, social engagement prioritization tool (C4C) used in the first session of S-ENG can improve intervention fidelity and

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
52

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • Rochester, New York, United States, 14642
        • University of Rochester

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Caregiver (age 50 or older) for a community-dwelling loved one with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia (ADRD), living with (or in close proximity to) the person with ADRD.
  • Elevated caregiving distress: above population mean (>11) on 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and/or at least moderate caregiver strain (score >= 5) on the Modified Caregiver Strain Index.
  • Social disconnection: UCLA Loneliness Scale: Short Form score of > 5.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-English speaking
  • Significant cognitive impairment
  • Major cardiovascular conditions that may interfere with reliable assessment of HRV (e.g., congestive heart failure, pacemaker, prior myocardial infarction).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Social Engage Coaching
Social Engage Coaching involves psychoeducation on the importance of social connections for health as well as structured goal setting and problem solving for increasing social connectedness.
Behavioral: Social Engage Coaching
Participants will complete up to 8 weekly individual Social Engage psychotherapy sessions. Participants will be allotted up to 3 months to complete all sessions, a time-frame that allows for two weeks without meeting to address life stressors such as illnesses that may pop up. All sessions are provided via phone or videocall (Zoom). The first and last session are longer - up to 60 minutes if needed. Middle sessions are shorter (20-45 minutes). Engage is a stepped care psychotherapy in that the simplest strategy is taught first-action planning (a derivative of problem solving therapy)-and "barrier strategies" are added only if needed. Action plans are designed to address loneliness and social isolation in the context of caregiving demands.
Active Comparator: Social Engage Coaching with Connect for Caregivers
Social Engage Coaching involves psychoeducation on the importance of social connections for health as well as structured goal setting and problem solving, guided by use of a digitized prioritization tool, for increasing social connectedness.
Behavioral: Social Engage Coaching
Participants will complete up to 8 weekly individual Social Engage psychotherapy sessions. Participants will be allotted up to 3 months to complete all sessions, a time-frame that allows for two weeks without meeting to address life stressors such as illnesses that may pop up. All sessions are provided via phone or videocall (Zoom). The first and last session are longer - up to 60 minutes if needed. Middle sessions are shorter (20-45 minutes). Engage is a stepped care psychotherapy in that the simplest strategy is taught first-action planning (a derivative of problem solving therapy)-and "barrier strategies" are added only if needed. Action plans are designed to address loneliness and social isolation in the context of caregiving demands.
Behavioral: Connect for Caregivers
Participants will complete an individual session with a coach who will use a digitized prioritization tool to help identify goals and an action plan for social connectedness.
Other Names:
  • Digitized prioritization of goals and action planning for social engagement.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Loneliness
Time Frame: 11 weeks
UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3, which assesses self-reported loneliness. 20 items, rated as to how often the participant has felt a certain way in the prior month (e.g., "How often do you feel alone?") -- "never" (1), "rarely" (2), "sometimes" (3), or "often" (4). Higher scores indicate greater loneliness. However, some individual items must be reverse-coded so that higher total scores reflect greater loneliness (i.e., 1=4, 2=3, 3=2, 4=1). These items (e.g., "How often do you feel there are people you can turn to?") are items 1,5,6,9,10,15,16,19,20. Total scores range from 20 to 80, with higher scores representing a worse outcome (i.e., greater loneliness).
11 weeks
High Frequency Heart Rate Variability (HF-HRV)
Time Frame: 11 weeks
HF-HRV is derived by spectral analysis of the electrocardiograph (ECG) waveform collected during a rest period, and is a measure of parasympathetic control of the heart; Higher resting HF-HRV (absolute power of the high-frequency band (0.15-0.4 Hz) in ms-squared) reflects greater parasympathetic regulation of the heart.
11 weeks
Dot Probe Task
Time Frame: 11 weeks
Difference in response times (in milliseconds) to dots appearing in the location of a previously shown negative versus the neutral face. Negative values indicate a shorter response time to negative versus neutral faces (interpreted as a greater attentional bias to negative versus neutral faces).
11 weeks
Affect (Valence) From Self-Assessment Manikin
Time Frame: 11 weeks
Mean valence score during negatively valenced social pictures. The Self-Assessment Manikin is a non-verbal pictorial assessment technique that directly measures a person's affect in response to positive, negative, and neutrally valenced pictures. Affect valence is measured on a 9-point scale: 1 (very unpleasant) - 9 (very pleasant).
11 weeks
Stroop Task
Time Frame: 11 weeks
Difference in response time (in ms) to congruent versus incongruent trials, where congruent trials presented, for example, a positive social word spoken in a positive tone of voice whereas incongruent trials presented, for example, a positive social word spoken in a negative tone of voice. Negative values indicate longer response times to incongruent trials (interpreted as greater cognitive interference/distraction when trying to determine the semantic meaning (positive or negative) of a word when the vocal tone is inconsistent with the semantic meaning of the word.
11 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Flanker Task
Time Frame: 11 weeks
During the trials, a decision needs to be made about whether the orientation of a central stimulus is congruent or incongruent with a set of flanking arrows. Selective attention/cognitive inhibition is indicated by difference between response time (millisecond) on the congruent and incongruent conditions.
11 weeks
Set-Shifting Task
Time Frame: 11 weeks
During each trial, the participant is required to match a stimulus on the top of the screen to one of two stimuli in the lower corners of the screen. In task-homogeneous blocks, the examinee performs either Task A (e.g., classifying shapes) or Task B (e.g., classifying colors). In task-heterogeneous blocks, the examinee alternates between the two tasks pseudo-randomly. Cognitive flexibility (or capacity for task switching) is derived as the difference in response time (milleseconds) between homogeneous and heterogenous blocks.
11 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Rochester

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Kathi L Heffner, PhD, University of Rochester

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 18, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 30, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 31, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 31, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 14, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 20, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STUDY00007800
  • P30AG064103 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • P30AG064103-Pilot7 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Rochester Roybal Center for Social Ties & Aging Research)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The final dataset will include self-reported demographic and health history data from assessments with 57 older adults who are caregivers for individuals with ADRD. Data from this research will be made available to the public in the University of Rochester's institutional repository, UR Research, at https://urresearch.rochester.edu. We will share the research protocols, in a text format, such as MS Word or PDF. Any qualitative data will also be made available in text form. For quantitative data, the PI will make available the actual datasets generated from research, in a commonly- used format such as a SAS® dataset. The datasets will be associated with a related publication, research protocol or other documentation of the original research.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Timetable to release the data: the data and referenced resources from publications will be made available by the on-line publication date.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

The investigators will make the data and associated documentation available to users only under a data-sharing agreement as suggested by the NIH that provides for: (1) a commitment to using the data only for research purposes and not to identify any individual participant; (2) a commitment to securing the data using appropriate computer technology; and (3) a commitment to destroying or returning the data after analyses are completed. 4. De-identification of data from human subjects: A final complete database will be created to host all data which will be stripped of any identifiers and stored pursuant to UR Institutional Review Board protocols. Confidentiality for research subjects for qualitative data will be promoted by the use of an anonymization scheme and anonymizing the data as the qualitative files are created for the analysis (following guidelines developed by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, 2012).

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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