NCT06146218

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

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

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 22 (actual)
• Sponsor: Rockefeller University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 50 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

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.

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.

Conditions

• Racism
• Stress, Psychological

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
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.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-02-15
• Primary completion: 2024-08-09
• Completion: 2024-08-09
• First posted: 2023-11-24
• Last updated: 2026-04-09
• Results posted: 2026-04-09

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States