RECRUITINGINTERVENTIONAL

Reducing Suicide Risk Among Aging Caregivers of Persons With AD/ADRD

Reducing Suicide Risk Among Aging Caregivers of Persons With AD/ADRD: Adapting, Implementing, and Evaluating Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training Interventions

About This Trial

This project aims to adapt, implement, and evaluate a Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills training group intervention for aging adult family caregivers of person with Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) to reduce suicidality. By adapting this modality, the investigators will provide a scalable intervention tailored for this high-risk population, maximizing the public health impact and improving suicide prevention.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

Who May Qualify: - being age 50 and over (as most informal caregivers of persons with AD/ADRD are 50 or older; AARP, 2020; Chi et al., 2019) - being the primary informal caregiver - living with an AD/ADRD-diagnosed patient - being willing to be prodded for bloodspots - demonstrating English-fluency - endorsing a direct or indirect SI/suicide risk - Eligible individuals will score above clinical cutoffs for SI/suicide risk on at least 1 of 3 measures: the Suicide Behavior Questionnaire-R (SBQ-R; score \> 6; Osman et al., 2002), Interpersonal Needs Question-naire (INQ; thwarted belonging score \> 35; and perceived burden \> 17; Mitchell et al., 2020) or the Geriatric De-pression Scale (GDS; score \> 5 Heisel et al., 2005). Who Should NOT Join This Trial: • Participants with neurocognitive impairment will be excluded (a Mini-Mental State Exam score ≤ 23; Folstein et al., 1975; Kochhann et al., 2010) Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language

Inclusion Criteria: * being age 50 and over (as most informal caregivers of persons with AD/ADRD are 50 or older; AARP, 2020; Chi et al., 2019) * being the primary informal caregiver * living with an AD/ADRD-diagnosed patient * being willing to be prodded for bloodspots * demonstrating English-fluency * endorsing a direct or indirect SI/suicide risk * Eligible individuals will score above clinical cutoffs for SI/suicide risk on at least 1 of 3 measures: the Suicide Behavior Questionnaire-R (SBQ-R; score \> 6; Osman et al., 2002), Interpersonal Needs Question-naire (INQ; thwarted belonging score \> 35; and perceived burden \> 17; Mitchell et al., 2020) or the Geriatric De-pression Scale (GDS; score \> 5 Heisel et al., 2005). Exclusion Criteria: • Participants with neurocognitive impairment will be excluded (a Mini-Mental State Exam score ≤ 23; Folstein et al., 1975; Kochhann et al., 2010)

Treatments Being Tested

BEHAVIORAL

Adapted Dialectical Behavior Therapy

DBT includes skills training groups, unlike other suicide-specific treatments, with modules on distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness (Linehan, 2014)

Locations (1)

Garrison Institute on Aging

Lubbock, Texas, United States