Compassion-Based Resiliency Training (CBRT) Intervention on Racism-based Stress

March 21, 2026 updated by: Rockefeller University

Effects of Compassion-Based Resiliency Training (CBRT) Intervention on Racism-based Stress Among African Americans: A Pilot Study

The primary aim of this study is to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of CBRT intervention among African Americans compared to a wait-list control group. The specific objectives include assessing feasibility, gathering participant feedback, evaluating CBRT's impact on psychological and biological outcomes, and exploring the mediating role of mindfulness.

The study is a 1-group pretest-posttest design. 20 African American participants will be recruited from various sources and undergo baseline and follow-up assessments. The intervention involves a 10-week CBRT program focusing on mindfulness, compassion, self-awareness, and stress-reduction techniques. Measures include sociodemographics and psychological measures (race-based stress, depression, perceived stress, quality of life, social connectedness, sleep, and resilience) and biological measures ( allostatic load, saliva cortisol, telomere length, and gene expression. Data is collected at baseline and 10 weeks.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Racism and racial discrimination profoundly affect mental and physical health among historically disenfranchised ethnic groups, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). The negative health impacts are evident in elevated mortality rates, early disease onset, and increased comorbidity burden among BIPOC individuals. This study seeks to address these health disparities by investigating the potential of Contemplative-Based Resilience Training (CBRT) to mitigate the impact of racism-related stress. CBRT holds promise in countering the neurobiological changes attributed to chronic stress, aligning with the "weathering hypothesis" and Allostatic load theory.

The primary aim of this pilot study is to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of CBRT intervention among African Americans compared to a waitlist control group. The specific objectives include assessing feasibility, gathering participant feedback, evaluating CBRT's impact on psychological and biological outcomes, and exploring the mediating role of mindfulness.

The study utilizes a one-group pretest-posttest design, where participants are recruited from various sources and undergo baseline and follow-up assessments. The intervention involves a ten-week Cognitive-Based Resilience Training (CBRT) program focusing on developing mindfulness, compassion, self-awareness, and stress-reduction techniques. The study measures include socio-demographics and psychological measures such as race-based stress, depression, perceived stress, quality of life, social connectedness, sleep, and resilience, as well as biological measures including allostatic load, saliva cortisol, telomere length, and gene expression. Data is collected at baseline and after ten weeks of the program.

Feasibility will be assessed based on recruitment rates, retention, attendance, and qualitative feedback. The impact of CBRT will be evaluated through various statistical analyses, considering intention-to-treat principles and controlling for covariates. Preliminary findings from a pilot investigation with 20 African-American participants suggest associations between psychological measures, mindfulness, sleep, coping, resilience, and racism-induced stress. These results underscore the potential of CBRT in addressing complex relationships among these factors. By investigating the potential benefits of CBRT in alleviating racism-induced stress and associated health disparities, this research aims to contribute insights into mindfulness-based interventions to address racism-related stress and its broader implications for the well-being of BIPOC communities.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

22

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10065
        • Recrutment Office

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Self Identity as African American or Black
  • 18-50 years old
  • Fluent in English

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of significant pre-existing brain disease or injury (e.g., dementia, stroke, seizure disorder, and head injury with cognitive sequelae or loss of consciousness more than 30 minutes, seizure disorder)
  • Reported history of learning disability/mental retardation
  • Current Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or psychotic disorder diagnosis
  • Current psychotropic medication (as these medications are known impacts on brain function) e.g. antipsychotics, antianxiety
  • Severe/chronic medical illness (e.g., reported HIV+ status, cardiovascular disease, liver disease/cirrhosis, chronic kidney disease, current/past cancer with radiation/chemotherapy treatment, etc.)
  • Current methadone/suboxone/buprenorphine (or similar) maintenance
  • Use of illicit substances other than cannabis within the past 90 days
  • Pregnant
  • Major life events in the last 30 days (hospitalization, marriage, death in the family of friends, disaster)

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: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Contemplative-Based Resilience Training (CBRT)
The intervention group will undergo a 10-week program addressing mindfulness, compassion, social-emotional self-care, exposing stress-reactive habits, self-awareness, visualization, and deep breathing.
Behavioral: Contemplative-Based Resilience Training (CBRT)
The intervention is a 10-week program that will address mindfulness, compassion, social-emotional self-care, exposing stress-reactive habits, self-awareness, visualization, and deep breathing. The rationale for applying this mindfulness intervention to promote psychological resilience following the development of race-based traumatic symptoms is based on the notion that mindfulness promotes acceptance of complex thoughts and feelings, reduces rumination, and improves psychological function, cognitive flexibility, and coping processes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility of Study
Time Frame: 10 weeks
number of participants who complete the study
10 weeks
Acceptability of CBRT (Qualitative Interview Findings)
Time Frame: at the end of the 10 week intervention

Acceptability was assessed using structured qualitative exit interviews conducted post-intervention. Interview transcripts were reviewed using structured thematic coding. Predefined themes reflecting participant experience were identified, including expectations alignment, perceived usefulness of meditation/emotional regulation tools, facilitator support, group dynamics, session structure, and behavioral impact.

For reporting purposes, the number of participants who explicitly endorsed each theme during the interview was counted. Participants could endorse more than one theme; therefore, totals across themes do not sum to the overall sample size.

Endorsement reflects a clear expression of agreement, perceived benefit, or experience related to the theme during qualitative analysis.
at the end of the 10 week intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Allostatic Load Composite Score (NHANES Clinically Relevant Scoring 0-11 )
Time Frame: Baseline (pre-CBT) to 10 weeks (post-CBT)

Allostatic load score is a composite score based on eleven biomarkers. Risk categories for the level of each biomarker are defined and points, high (Hi) (1 point), moderate (Mod) (0.5 points), or low (low) (0 points), are awarded based on established norms in clinical medicine. Allostatic Load is the sum of the points from the 11 biomarkers. High scores indicate a more significant risk.

1) SBP: Hi ≥ 150 mmHg, Mod 120 to 149 mmHg, Low < 120 mmHg; 2) DBP: Hi ≥ 90 mmHg, Mod 80 to 89 mmHg, Low < 80 mmHg; 3) Total cholesterol: Hi ≥ 240 mg/dL, Mod 200 to 239 mg/dL, Low < 200 mg/dL; 4) HDL cholesterol: Hi < 40 mg/dL, Mod 40 to 59 mg/dL, Low > 60 mg/dL; 5) Total/HDL cholesterol ratio: Hi ≥ 6, Mod 5 to < 6, Low < 5; 6) HgbA1C: Hi ≥ 6.5%, Mod 5.7 to < 6.5%, Low < 5.7%; 7) Waist-hip ratio (women): Hi ≥ 0.85, Mod > 0.80 to < 0.85, Low ≤ 0.80; Waist-hip ratio (men): Hi ≥ 1.0, Mod > 0.95 to < 1.0, Low ≤ 0.95; 8); BMI: Hi ≥ 30 kg/m2, Mod 25
Baseline (pre-CBT) to 10 weeks (post-CBT)
Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR)
Time Frame: Baseline (Pre-CBRT) and 10 weeks (Post-CBRT)
Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) was calculated as the difference between salivary cortisol concentration measured 30 minutes after awakening and at waking (µg/dL). Positive values reflect a physiologic increase in cortisol following awakening.
Baseline (Pre-CBRT) and 10 weeks (Post-CBRT)
Composite CTRA Gene Expression Score
Time Frame: comparison from baseline (pre-CBT) to 10 weeks (post-CBT)
CTRA gene expression was assessed using genome-wide transcriptional profiling of peripheral blood samples. Expression levels of 45 pre-specified CTRA indicator genes were quantified as log2-transformed mRNA abundance values. Gene expression values were mean-centered and weighted using established contrast scores reflecting pro-inflammatory and antiviral gene contributions. A composite CTRA score was calculated by averaging the weighted expression values across all genes, with higher scores indicating greater pro-inflammatory and lower antiviral gene expression activity.
comparison from baseline (pre-CBT) to 10 weeks (post-CBT)
Telomere Length
Time Frame: 10 weeks
Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR )will determine average telomere length.
10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Rockefeller University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Rachel W Kimani, DNP, Rockefeller University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

February 15, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 9, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

August 9, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 17, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 17, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

November 24, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 21, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • RKI-1047

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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