Self-compassion and Quality of Life After Dementia Diagnosis

Is Self-compassion Associated With Older Adults' Quality of Life After Dementia Diagnosis and Does Perceived Threat Posed by Dementia Mediate This Relationship?

This study aims to investigate whether self-compassion is associated with older adult's quality of life after a diagnosis of dementia, and whether perceived threat posed by dementia mediates this relationship. Self-compassion has been found to be positive in supporting individuals in times of difficulty, in adjustment processes and older adults' wellbeing. While different factors have begun to be identified which are associated with individuals' psychological wellbeing and adjustment following a dementia diagnosis, little is known about the influence of self-compassion.

Participants will be recruited via NHS memory clinics, Join Dementia Research and from the community via third-sector organisations. Individuals will be invited to attend a Microsoft Teams/telephone appointment in which informed consent and cognitive screening processes will take place at the start. Eligible participants will then be invited to continue to complete measures administered by a researcher and an interview question. Participants will be offered the opportunity to complete the measures in a second session (within 8 weeks) or using the online survey software, Qualtrics, if preferred.

A small pilot study (n = 5) will take place prior to the main study.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dementia

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 23

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Oxfordshire
    • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, OX3 7JX
      • Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The participant sample is anticipated to comprise NHS patients who have been seen in memory clinic and individuals recruited from the community.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• An older adult aged ≥ 65 years
• A confirmed diagnosis of dementia received within the past 12 months
• They have knowledge of their diagnosis
• They have English language proficiency
• They have capacity to give informed consent to participation.

Exclusion Criteria:

• They are deemed to lack capacity to give informed consent to participate (as per the Mental Capacity Act, 2005).
• They have a diagnosis of early-onset dementia, defined as individuals who are aged < 65 at diagnosis
• A score on the MoCA Blind (Nasreddine, 2022b) screening measure of <7 out of 22, which is calculated as equivalent to <10 out of 30 on the MoCA (Nasreddine et al., 2005).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
'High self-compassion' group; Participants' total mean score on the Self-compassion Scale - Short Form will be used as the independent variable. A median split (+/-1 standard error of the median) on the Self-compassion Scale - Short Form will be used to retrospectively allocate participants to groups, with participants scoring ≥ + 1 standard error of the median on the Self-compassion Scale - Short Form allocated to a 'High self-compassion' group.
'Low self-compassion' group; Participants' total mean score on the Self-compassion Scale - Short Form will be used as the independent variable. A median split (+/-1 standard error of the median) on the Self-compassion Scale - Short Form will be used to retrospectively allocate participants to groups, with participants scoring ≤ - 1 standard error of the median on the Self-compassion Scale - Short Form allocated to a 'Low self-compassion' group.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease	The Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease consists of 13 items relating to different aspects of quality of life, such as mood, physical health, friends and ability to do things for fun. Each item is scored from 1 ('poor') to 4 ('excellent') to calculate a total score.	Through study completion, average 40-60 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stress Appraisal Measure	The Stress Appraisal Measure consists of 28 items pertaining to perceived future threat, measured across seven subscales; three referring to primary appraisals of threat, centrality and challenge, three relating to secondary appraisal - controllable by self, controllable by others and uncontrollable), and stressfulness. Only the threat and 'stressfulness' subscales, consisting of four items respectively, will be completed.	Through study completion, average 40-60 minutes
Geriatric Depression Scale - 10	The Geriatric Depression Scale - 10, consisting of 10 items relating to how the person has felt over the past week (e.g. 'do you feel happy most of the time?'), has good reliability (α = 0.75), sensitivity and specificity. The Geriatric Depression Scale -10 is considered a reliable screening measure for major depression in older adults.	Through study completion, average 40-60 minutes

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-compassion Scale - Short Form	The Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form consists of 12 items relating to six subscales (self-judgement, self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness, isolation and over-identification), with each item scored from 1 ('almost never') to 5 ('almost always') and three items reverse-scored. The Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form is a shortened version of the Self-Compassion Scale. It is recommended utilising a total mean score calculated using the subscale mean scores, and this will be adopted in the current study to form the independent variable.	Through study completion, average 40-60 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• 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.
• Neff, K. (2003). Development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and identity(2), 223-250.
• Neff, K. (2022). Self-Compassion Scale - Short-Form (SCS-SF) Information. https://self-compassion.org/self-compassion-scales-for-researchers/
• van Marwijk HW, Wallace P, de Bock GH, Hermans J, Kaptein AA, Mulder JD. Evaluation of the feasibility, reliability and diagnostic value of shortened versions of the geriatric depression scale. Br J Gen Pract. 1995 Apr;45(393):195-9.
• Peacock, E. J., & Wong, P. T. (1990). The stress appraisal measure (SAM): A multidimensional approach to cognitive appraisal. Stress medicine, 6(3), 227-236.
• Logsdon, R. G., Gibbons, L. E., McCurry, S. M., & Teri, L. (1999). Quality of life in Alzheimer's disease: patient and caregiver reports. Journal of Mental health and Aging, 5, 21-32

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 2, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 23, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): October 23, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 24, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 17, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): June 18, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 16, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 13, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: dementia; quality of life; self-compassion
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Neurocognitive Disorders; Dementia
• Other Study ID Numbers: PID 17089

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No