Supporting Our Caregivers In ADRD Learning (SOCIAL) (SOCIAL)

Supporting Our Caregivers In ADRD Learning (SOCIAL): Reducing Stress for Caregivers of Persons With Dementia, a Pilot Randomized Control Trial

Building on limitations of prior research, the investigators developed the Mindful and Self-Compassionate Care Program (MASC) to help caregivers of persons with Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) manage stress associated with the general caregiver experience including stress stemming from managing challenging patient behaviors. MASC teaches: (1) mindfulness skills; (2) compassion and self-compassion skills; and (3) behavioral management skills. MASC also provides psychoeducation and group-based training and skill practice to facilitate skill uptake and integration within the caregiver experience and tasks.

The main aim is to: Demonstrate feasibility, acceptability, credibility, fidelity, preliminary efficacy and evidence for proposed mechanism of MASC through a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Relevant stakeholders (caregivers of persons with ADRD) will participate in the intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Quality of Life; Caregiver Stress; Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Mindful and Self-Compassionate Care Program (MASC); Behavioral: Health Education Program (HEP)

Detailed Description

Over half of Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) caregivers are actively looking for non-pharmacological interventions to decrease caregiver stress. Available programs do not sufficiently meet the psychological and practical needs of stressed caregivers of persons with ADRD; better solutions are needed. First, while helpful, most support groups do not systematically teach behavioral management skills which caregivers report needing in order to manage challenging patient behaviors. Second, behavioral management skills interventions exist, but do not teach: 1) emotional regulation skills which are necessary in order to foster caregiver ability to access and use these skills to manage patient behaviors, and/or 2) self-compassion and compassion skills which are necessary to bypass guilt and loneliness and navigate behavioral symptoms which are common caregiver challenges. Third, mindfulness and self-compassion interventions are effective solutions for managing stress, and distress across multiple populations, but engagement and efficacy among diverse ADRD caregivers are limited.

The guiding hypothesis of this proposal is that combining evidence-based mindfulness and self-compassion skills with behavioral management skills within a multi-component program increases intervention potency and efficiently supports caregivers of persons with ADRD. Accounting for practical challenges to engagement (number of sessions, delivery modality, skill practice) will also enhance uptake and reach.

The investigators will conduct a randomized-controled trial (RCT) study to explore feasibility benchmarks, target engagement and signal of improvement in stress, depression, anxiety and wellbeing (NIH stage 1B; N= up to 88 caregivers). The investigators will recruit caregivers of persons with ADRD from local community organizations and caregiver support programs; dementia research programs; and from national programs that focus on caregiving.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 82
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114-2524
      • Massachusetts General Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years or older
• English fluency and literacy
• Meeting criteria for being a caregiver (e.g., family or friend of a care recipient who provides unpaid care)
• Must live with and care for an individual with ADRD
• Must have been in a caregiver role for more than 6 months
• Must provide an average 4 hours of supervision or direct assistance per day for the are recipient
• Perceived Stress Scale-4 (4-item) version ≥ 6
• Had managed 1 or more behavioral symptoms in past month

Exclusion Criteria:

• Recent (within the past 6 weeks) change in prescribed medications for depression or anxiety
• Use of mindfulness apps or any meditation (more than 60 min/week in past 3 months)
• Involvement in another clinical trial for caregivers, a score ≥ 4 on the Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (PMSQ)
• No stated concerns or distress related to care recipient's disruptive behaviors
• Involvement in another clinical trial for caregivers

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Mindful and Self-Compassionate Care Program (MASC); The intervention arm will be comprised of: Six Virtual Group Sessions. The sessions will teach mindfulness, self-compassion and behavioral management skills. At Home Practice. After each group session, participants will have the opportunity to integrate the practices learned into their everyday life.	Behavioral: Mindful and Self-Compassionate Care Program (MASC); The intervention arm will be comprised of: Six Virtual Group Sessions. The sessions will teach mindfulness, self-compassion and behavioral management skills. At Home Practice. After each group session, participants will have the opportunity to integrate the practices learned into their everyday life.
Active Comparator: Health Education Program (HEP); The control arm will be comprised of: Six Virtual Group Sessions. The sessions will discuss caregiver stress, sleep hygiene, nutrition, and ways to stay physically active as a caregiver. At Home Practice. After each group session, participants will have the opportunity to complete journal exercises that encourage them to integrate the health information that they learn into their daily lives.	Behavioral: Health Education Program (HEP); The control arm will be comprised of: Six Virtual Group Sessions. The sessions will discuss caregiver stress, sleep hygiene, nutrition, and ways to stay physically active as a caregiver. At Home Practice. After each group session, participants will have the opportunity to complete journal exercises that encourage them to integrate the health information that they learn into their daily lives.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility of Recruitment	The proportion of eligible participants who are eligible and choose to enroll in the study and the percentage of racial and ethnically diverse participants enrolled.	Baseline
Feasibility of Randomization	The percentage randomized who complete the post-test.	Baseline, Post intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline)
Patient's Global Impression of Change (PGIC)	PGIC is a 7-point scale depicting a participant's rating of overall improvement. Participants rate their change as "very much improved", "much improved", "minimally improved", "no change", "minimally worse", "much worse" or "very much worse"	Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline)
Perceptions of Questionnaire Battery	The 'Perceptions of Questionnaire Battery' qualitative measure assesses how appropriately the participants fill the questionnaires, address their perception of stress, emotional distress and all other questionnaires.	Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline)
Perceptions of Email and Text Reminders	Participants' perception of emails and text messages reminders. The single question -, "Do participants think that the number of emails/texts received was: too little, just enough, too much?"	Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline)
Feasibility of Assessment Measures	The proportion of participants who completed the study and had fewer than 25% of all expected study questionnaires missing across the entire assessment period. This participant-level measure assessed overall study completion and questionnaire adherence.	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Feasibility of Quantitative Measures	Assessing whether at least 75% of participants completed every study question in the questionnaire (of note: no questionnaire in this study was entirely missing). The benchmark was met if no more than 25% of participants had one or more questionnaires that were completely missing.	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Adherence to Treatment	The proportion of caregivers who attend at least 4 out of the 6 sessions out of all randomized caregivers. Adherence to treatment will be estimated for both HEP and MASC.	Post-intervention (Up to 8 weeks post baseline)
Adherence to Home Practice	The proportion of participants who complete more than 50% weekly home practice.	Weekly (up to 6 weeks
Credibility and Expectancy	The Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ) assesses participants' perceptions that the treatment will work after participating in the intervention. It consists of 6 items divided into two subscales, with scoring is based on dividing the items into Credibility and Expectancy. Items 1-3: Assess Treatment Credibility, scored on a 1 to 9 scale (where 1 represents "not at all" and 9 represents "very much"; the subscale score is the sum of these three items, range: 3-27; a higher score indicates a better outcome). Items 4-6: Assess Treatment Expectancy, scored on a 0% to 100% scale (values are recoded to match the 1 to 9 scale of the previous items; once recoded, values range from 3-27; higher scores represent a better outcome). Credibility Score: Calculate the sum (or average) of items 1-3; a higher score indicates a better outcome. Expectancy Score: Calculate the sum (or average) of items 4-6; a higher score indicates a better outcome.	Baseline
Modified Perception of Global Improvement	The Modified Perception of Global Improvement (MPGI) is a global index designed to measure a participant's interpretation of changes in perceptions of stress following intervention. The MPGI uses a 7-point Likert scale, with 1 = Very Much Improved and 7 = Very Much Worse (lower score represents a better outcome). For the data below, the scores were converted as follows: Improved - original scores of 1-3 converted to a zero Not improved - original score 4-7 converted to a 1. The averages of the converted scores were computed, with a score ranging from 0-1 (with a lower score representing a better outcome).	(6-8 weeks post baseline)
Satisfaction With the Intervention	The investigators will use the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-3) to assess participants' satisfaction with the intervention. Each of the three questions is scored on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 4, where higher numbers indicate greater satisfaction. To calculate the score, you add up the responses from the three questions. Total Score Range: 3 to 12 (higher score represents better outcome).	Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline)
Therapist Fidelity	Ability of therapist to deliver the content of each session (through therapist completed adherence checklists) and therapist fidelity (through independent review of recorded sessions by Co-Investigator). To measure this outcome, recorded sessions were analyzed.	Baseline through Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Perceived Stress Scale	The Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS-10) assesses perceived stress using a 5-point Likert scale. The total score is determined by adding together the scores of each of the four items. Questions 2 and 3 are reverse coded. Questions 1 and 4: 0 = Never; 1 = Almost never; 2 = Sometimes; 3 = Fairly often; 4 = Very often Questions 2 and 3: 4 = Never; 3 = Almost never; 2 = Sometimes; 1 = Fairly often; 0 = Very often. Scores range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating more stress.	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Symptoms of Anxiety	The State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) state subscales (20 items) assesses anxiety symptoms in response to stressful situations. The range of possible scores varies from a minimum score of 20 to a maximum score of 80. STAI scores are commonly classified as "no or low anxiety" (20-37), "moderate anxiety" (38-44), and "high anxiety" (45-80).	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Loneliness	The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) 3-item loneliness scale assesses relational connectedness, social connectedness and self-perceived isolation. The scores for each individual question can be added together to give participants a possible range of scores from 3 to 9. Researchers in the past have grouped people who score 3 - 5 as "not lonely" and people with the score 6 - 9 as "lonely".	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Dyadic Relationship Scale	The Dyadic Relationship Scale (DRS) (11 items) assesses negative and positive dyadic interactions between caregivers and their care recipient. Each item is rated on four-point scale (0-3) and responses are summed for a total score. Possible scores range from 0 to 33 with higher scores indicating higher levels of strain and positive interaction.	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Symptoms of Depression	Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). The CES-D is a 20-item scale widely used with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) participants. Response options range from 0 to 3 for each item (0 = Rarely or None of the Time, 1 = Some or Little of the Time, 2 = Moderately or Much of the time, 3 = Most or Almost All the Time) In scoring the CES-D, possible range of scores is 0 to 60, with the higher scores indicating the presence of more symptomatology.	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Mindfulness	The Applied Mindfulness Process Scale (AMPS) is a process measure used to quantify how participants in mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) use mindfulness practice when facing challenges in daily life. The AMPS yields 15 items representing three domains of applied mindfulness processes: (a) decentering, (b) positive emotional regulation, and (c) negative emotional regulation. AMPS is scored by adding all 15 items to obtain a score ranging from 0-60, with higher scores indicating higher use of mindfulness.	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
The Self-Compassion Scale	The Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form (SCS-SF) is a 12-item self-report measure that is used by adults to measure their capacity for self-compassion - the ability to hold one's feelings of suffering with a sense of warmth, connection and concern. All 12 items are scored using a 5-point Likert scale. Before calculating the final score, the following items are reverse-scored so that higher totals always reflect greater self-compassion: negative items that measure harsh self-criticism, isolation, and over-identification (Items 1, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12). Higher scores here indicate a more critical and reactive stance under stress. Positive items that measure self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness (Items 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10) are left untouched; higher scores mean a warmer, more accepting stance. The finalized 12 scored are summed (the reverse-scored numbers plus the untouched numbers) and divided by 12, for an average overall score between 1.0 and 5.0 with 5 indicating higher SC.	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Compassion	The Compassion Scale (CS) has 16 items assessing common humanity, kindness toward others and ability to understand the suffering or challenges of others, all items scored using a 5 point Likert scale. The items are grouped into 4 categories: Kindness (Items 2, 6, 10, 14), Common Humanity (Items 4, 8, 12, 16), Mindfulness (Items 1, 5, 9, 13), Indifference (Items 3, 7, 11, 15). Indifference items are reverse scored so that a higher number corresponds to higher compassion. The mean of each subscale is calculated. The, using the reverse-coded indifference scores and untouched scores, the grand mean of all 16 items to get the overall compassion score. Total scores will range from 1.0 to 5.0, where higher scores indicate greater overall compassion.	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Caregiver Self-efficacy	The Revised Caregiver Self-efficacy (RSCSE), assessing domains of self-efficacy including obtaining respite, responding to disruptive patient behaviors and controlling upsetting through, is a 15-item inventory with scores calculated as the mean across items, with higher scores indicating greater self-efficacy. There are 3 5-item subscales: Self-Efficacy for Obtaining Respite, Self-Efficacy for Responding to Disruptive Behaviors, and Self-Efficacy for Controlling Upsetting Thoughts. Each item is rated on a scale from 0-100. The subscale score is calculated by taking the mathematical average of the items within a specific subscale (0 to 100). The total score is calculated by taking the mathematical average of the non-missing items within a specific subscale (0 to 100).	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Social Support	The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List short form (ISEL) is a 12-item measure of perceptions of social support. Each of the 12 items is rated on a 4 point Likert scale from 0-3. Items are separated into subscales as follows: Appraisal Support (Items 2, 4, 6, 11), Belonging Support (Items 1, 5, 7, 9) and Tangible Support (Items 3, 8, 10, 12). Negative items (1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 12) are reverse coded. All 12 item scores are summed together, including reverse coded and untouched items, to get a score from 0-36, with higher total scores indicating a stronger perception of available social support.	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Well-being	The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-D) has 5 items assessing emotional well-being. The raw score is calculated by totaling the figures of the five answers. The raw score ranges from 0 to 25, 0 representing worst possible and 25 representing best possible quality of life.	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention
Distress Due to Patient Challenges Behaviors	The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Caregiver Distress Scale has 12 items assessing distress associated with dementia patient's behaviors such as apathy, elation, disinhibition. Participant distress is rated for each positive neuropsychiatric symptom domain on a scale anchored by score from 0 to 5 points. The Score is: 0 = Not distressing at all, 1 = Minimal (slightly distressing, not a problem to cope with), 2 = Mild (not very distressing, generally easy to cope with), 3 = Moderate (fairly distressing, not always easy to cope with), 4 = Severe (very distressing, difficult to cope with), 5 = Extreme of Very Severe (extremely distressing, unable to cope with). The scores are added up for all 12 items, and the final score reported below ranges from 0-60 (a lower score indicates lower levels of stress and a better outcome).	Baseline, Post-intervention (6-8 weeks post baseline), 3-months post intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Collaborators: National Institute on Aging (NIA); University of California, San Francisco
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital; Principal Investigator: Christine Ritchie, MD, MSPH, Massachusetts General Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav. 1983 Dec;24(4):385-96. No abstract available.
• Russell DW. UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): reliability, validity, and factor structure. J Pers Assess. 1996 Feb;66(1):20-40. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa6601_2.
• Devilly GJ, Borkovec TD. Psychometric properties of the credibility/expectancy questionnaire. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2000 Jun;31(2):73-86. doi: 10.1016/s0005-7916(00)00012-4.
• Raes F, Pommier E, Neff KD, Van Gucht D. Construction and factorial validation of a short form of the Self-Compassion Scale. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2011 May-Jun;18(3):250-5. doi: 10.1002/cpp.702. Epub 2010 Jun 8.
• Brodaty H, Donkin M. Family caregivers of people with dementia. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2009;11(2):217-28. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2009.11.2/hbrodaty.
• Pommier E, Neff KD, Toth-Kiraly I. The Development and Validation of the Compassion Scale. Assessment. 2020 Jan;27(1):21-39. doi: 10.1177/1073191119874108. Epub 2019 Sep 13.
• Steffen AM, McKibbin C, Zeiss AM, Gallagher-Thompson D, Bandura A. The revised scale for caregiving self-efficacy: reliability and validity studies. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2002 Jan;57(1):P74-86. doi: 10.1093/geronb/57.1.p74.
• Lewinsohn PM, Seeley JR, Roberts RE, Allen NB. Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) as a screening instrument for depression among community-residing older adults. Psychol Aging. 1997 Jun;12(2):277-87. doi: 10.1037//0882-7974.12.2.277.
• 2021 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimers Dement. 2021 Mar;17(3):327-406. doi: 10.1002/alz.12328. Epub 2021 Mar 23.
• Li MJ, Black DS, Garland EL. The Applied Mindfulness Process Scale (AMPS): A process measure for evaluating mindfulness-based interventions. Pers Individ Dif. 2016 Apr 1;93:6-15. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.10.027.
• Jutkowitz E, Kane RL, Gaugler JE, MacLehose RF, Dowd B, Kuntz KM. Societal and Family Lifetime Cost of Dementia: Implications for Policy. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2017 Oct;65(10):2169-2175. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15043. Epub 2017 Aug 17.
• Roche V. The hidden patient: addressing the caregiver. Am J Med Sci. 2009 Mar;337(3):199-204. doi: 10.1097/MAJ.0b013e31818b114d.
• Sorensen S, Conwell Y. Issues in dementia caregiving: effects on mental and physical health, intervention strategies, and research needs. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2011 Jun;19(6):491-6. doi: 10.1097/JGP.0b013e31821c0e6e. No abstract available.
• Merz EL, Roesch SC, Malcarne VL, Penedo FJ, Llabre MM, Weitzman OB, Navas-Nacher EL, Perreira KM, Gonzalez F, Ponguta LA, Johnson TP, Gallo LC. Validation of interpersonal support evaluation list-12 (ISEL-12) scores among English- and Spanish-speaking Hispanics/Latinos from the HCHS/SOL Sociocultural Ancillary Study. Psychol Assess. 2014 Jun;26(2):384-94. doi: 10.1037/a0035248. Epub 2013 Dec 9.
• Attkisson CC, Greenfield TK. The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) and Scales and the Service Satisfaction Scale-30 (SSS-30).
• Travis A, O'Donnell A, Giraldo-Santiago N, Stone SM, Torres D, Adler SR, Vranceanu AM, Ritchie CS. Intervention for the Management of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms to Reduce Caregiver Stress: Protocol for the Mindful and Self-Compassion Care Intervention for Caregivers of Persons Living With Dementia. JMIR Res Protoc. 2024 Oct 11;13:e58356. doi: 10.2196/58356.
• Vranceanu AM, Szapary C, Crean M, Giridharan S, Adler SR, O'Donnell A, Giraldo-Santiago N, Parker RA, Ritchie CS. Feasibility of the Mindfulness Self-Compassionate Care program: a randomized controlled trial to address dementia caregiver stress. Gerontologist. 2026 Jun 9;66(7):gnag111. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnag111.

Helpful Links

• Evercare study of caregivers in decline: a close-up look at the health risks of caring for a loved one.
• Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
• Measuring the Dimension of Psychological General Well-Being by the WHO-5

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 22, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 28, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): May 28, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 18, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 18, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): February 23, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 2, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 11, 2026
• Last Verified: August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Neurocognitive Disorders; Dementia; Tauopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Stress, Psychological; Behavior; Caregiver Burden; Alzheimer Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2023P003638; R01AG078204-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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