CClinicalTrials.gg
Status unknownNCT03584568Updated Dec 14, 2018

Reappraising Intergeneration Relationships in Dementia Caregiving

An interventional study of Perspective Taking Reappraisal and Basic Skill Building in Alzheimer Dementia, sponsored by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Status unknown at 2 sites in Hong Kong. Open to participants aged 20 Years to 60 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-12-14.

Sponsored by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Dec 2018), so the status shown — last known as Recruiting — may be out of date.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
154
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
20 Years to 60 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

It is hypothesized that reappraising intergeneration relationships through perspective-taking will enhance the well-being of adult-child caregivers. Incorporating both psychological and social perspectives, the study makes a unique contribution to address research gaps by evaluating an integrated model of intervention for dementia caregivers. The conceptual model involves the following components: 1) relational insights; 2) self-reflection to integrate the challenges and benefits in caregiving; 3) interpersonal empathy

To test the incremental value of perspective-taking reappraisals, the study involves a two-arm randomized controlled trial of 12 weeks of intervention with two conditions: 1) Reappraisal through Perspective Taking and 2) Basic Skill Building. Telephone-administered sessions are integrated with group sessions and home visits to maximize sustainability and accessibility of the intervention. One hundred fifty-four participants will be recruited and randomized. Primary outcomes are reduced depressive symptoms and enhanced psychological well-being for the caregivers. Secondary outcomes include enhanced social support for caregivers and reduced behavioral problems in the care-recipients.

Read the detailed description

The proposed study aims to address a major research gap in caregiving interventions in the context of intergeneration perspective-taking reappraisals. Adult child caregivers are part of a sandwich generation, involved in actualizing their own goals and coping with social expectations to care for their elderly parents. Dementia caregiving presents a particular challenge in life transition wherein the adult child is parenting his or her parents. With global aging, people living with dementia are rising exponentially. This presents a challenge for sustainable care in Hong Kong and also in countries where public services are developing and the demand for family and intergeneration caregiving is high due to collectivistic concerns. It is hypothesized that reappraising intergeneration relationships through perspective-taking will enhance the well-being of adult-child caregivers. Incorporating both psychological and social perspectives, the study makes a unique contribution to address research gaps by evaluating an integrated model of intervention for dementia caregivers. The conceptual model involves the following components: 1) relational insights; 2) self-reflection to integrate the challenges and benefits in caregiving; 3) interpersonal empathy.

Most caregiving psycho-education programs involve skill training including scheduling pleasant events, communicating with the care recipient and other family members. To test the incremental value of perspective-taking reappraisals, the study involves a two-arm randomized controlled trial of 12 weeks of intervention with two conditions: 1) Perspective Taking Reappraisal and 2) Basic Skill Building. Telephone-administered sessions are integrated with home visits to maximize sustainability and accessibility of the intervention. One hundred fifty-four participants will be recruited and randomized. Primary outcomes are reduced depressive symptoms and enhanced psychological well-being for the caregivers. Secondary outcomes include enhanced social support for caregivers and reduced behavioral problems in the care-recipients. Measures are obtained at baseline Weeks 1 (baseline), 6 and 12 with a follow-up at Week 24. Findings have implications for enhancing sustainable care for older adults in the wider society.

02

Conditions studied

  • Alzheimer Dementia

Keywords

  • Caregiving
  • Intergeneration
  • Reappraisal through perspective taking
03

In context

Dementia

2,172 studies on the registry are indexed under Dementia; 540 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 154 is above the median of 83 across 1,629 interventional studies indexed under Dementia.

Browse Dementia studies →

Lead sponsor

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is the lead sponsor of 659 studies on the registry; 250 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
20 Years to 60 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Primary caregivers aged 20 or older and who have been caring for persons (aged 60 or above) with a physician diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in the mild to moderate range as determined by the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale.
  • Primary caregivers who have been providing unpaid care for more than 12 hours a week for at least the past three months.
  • The care should involve day-to-day decision-making as well as any of the following: feeding, dressing, bathing, toileting, housework, preparing meals, medication and handling finances.
  • They can be daughter/son or daughter-/son-in-law of the care recipient.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria are as follows:

  • signs of severe intellectual deficits
  • demonstrated suicidal ideation
  • exhibited evidence of psychotic disorders
  • hearing/ visual impairment
  • inability to read or speak Chinese/Cantonese fluently and severe.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
154 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Perspective Taking Reappraisal

    This arm focuses on reappraisals with perspective taking with a limited amount of basic skill building

    Behavioral: Perspective Taking Reappraisal · Other: Basic Skill Building

  • Other
    Basic Skill Building

    This arm focuses on basic skill building only.

    Other: Basic Skill Building

Interventions

  • BehavioralPerspective Taking Reappraisal

    Interventions involving 1) appreciating relational insights; 2) enhancing self-awareness; 3) empathetic understanding of care-recipient; 4) integrating self-care and caring for others and 5) negotiation.

  • OtherBasic Skill Building

    These skill-building exercises are commonly used in psycho-education programs for caregivers:monitoring mood and activities, relaxation techniques and scheduling pleasant events, basic communication with the care recipient, communicating the caregivers' own needs with other family member or related persons including helpers and professional staff.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Search Results Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression

    20-item measure that asks caregivers to rate how often over the past week they The scale rates experienced symptoms associated with depression.. 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). Scores range from 0 to 60, with high scores indicating greater level of having depressive symptoms.

    Time frame: Week 1, 6, 12, 24

  2. Change in Ryff's Psychological Well-being

    The 18-version of the scale taps the six areas of psychological well-being: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. Respondents rate statements on a scale of 1 to 6, with 1 indicating strong disagreement and 6 indicating strong agreement. The range of scores is from 0 to 108. Higher scores suggest higher levels of well-being. The subscale score of each of the six areas can be calculating by summation of the three items associated with each of the area.

    Time frame: Weeks 1,6, 12, 24

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Revised Memory and Problem Checklist

    The checklist is a 24-item caregiver-report measure provides a total score plus scores for three subscale memory-related problems, affective distress and disruptive behaviors. Scores are computed for the presence or absence of each problem first, and then for caregiver "reaction" or the extent to which caregivers were "bothered" or "distressed" by each behavior. The caregivers' reaction to each behavior, or the extent of distress experienced, were scored as follows: Reactions are assessed by asking how "upsetting" the behavior was on a Likert scale of 0 to 4 (0 = Not at all, 1= a little, 2 = moderately, 3 = very much, and 4 =extremely). Frequency of behaviors are assessed based on a Likert-scale of 0 to 4 (0 = never occurs, 1 = occurs infrequently and not in the last week, 2 = occurred 1-2 times in the last week, 3 = occurred 3-6 times in the last week, and 4 = occurs daily or more often). The range of score is from 0 to 96, higher scores suggesting greater disruption.

    Time frame: Weeks 1, 6, 12 ,24

  2. Change in MacArther Social Support Scales

    The measure the levels of emotional and instrumental social support experienced by the caregivers. The scale consists of 12 items assesses the frequency of receipt of 3 categories of social support: emotional support, instrumental support and negative interaction involving conflict or excessive demands. The participants scored each item on a 5-point Likert Scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (frequently). The range of scores is from 0 to 48, with higher score indicating better social support.

    Time frame: Weeks 1,6, 12, 24

07

Study locations

2 of 2 sites recruiting
  • Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
    Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    Recruiting
  • Institute of Active Ageing
    Kowloon, Hong Kong
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Au A, Gallagher-Thompson D, Wong MK, Leung J, Chan WC, Chan CC, Lu HJ, Lai MK, Chan K. Behavioral activation for dementia caregivers: scheduling pleasant events and enhancing communications. Clin Interv Aging. 2015 Mar 26;10:611-9. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S72348. eCollection 2015. PubMed 25848237 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 14, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03584568
Lead sponsor
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Responsible party
Dr. Au May-lan Alma (Associate Professor, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jul 12, 2018
Start date
Nov 11, 2018
Primary completion
Jul 8, 2021 (estimated)
Completion
Jul 8, 2021 (estimated)
Last update
Dec 14, 2018

Study contacts

Joey Chan, Master
Contact
joeycyc.chan@polyu.edu.hk
85227665504
Wing-sze Chan, Master
Contact
wing-sze.cc.chan@polyu.edu.hk
85234008379
Alma Au, PhD
principal investigator · Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is status unknown, as verified in Dec 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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