Social Intelligence Training in Midlife

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE2

Total Enrollment

240 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2014-09-30

Study Completion Date

2018-04-30

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

Childhood adversity leads to social difficulties, chronic illness, and early mortality for many, but not all adults: Some are resilient. The investigators will test whether an on-line program focused on enhancing social relationships for people in mid-life can increase the odds that those with a history of a troubled childhood will not suffer a greater loss in mental and physical health than those without those histories. The investigators findings will bring the field significantly closer to the day when low cost interventions can be offered that work to strengthen the capacities of people to overcome the challenges that arise from adverse treatment early in life.

Related Clinical Trials

Explore similar clinical trials based on study characteristics and research focus.

A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Hopeful and Healthy Living Program

NCT06940843

Serious Mental Illness Older Adults

RECRUITING NA

A Training Program for Developing Social- and Personal Resources

NCT04165473

Stress, Psychological Stress, Emotional Health Behavior +5 more

COMPLETED

Mind-Body Intervention for Older Adults in Long-term Care

NCT06932731

Long Term Care Facility

RECRUITING NA

Mindful Response to Adversity: A Brief Stress Resilience Training

NCT04064372

Loneliness Depression

COMPLETED NA

Social Intelligence Training for Custodial Grandfamilies

NCT03239977

Emotional Intelligence Quality of Life Social Competence

UNKNOWN PHASE2

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

It is indisputable that health declines with age, and that the rate of decline is not the same for everyone. Many sources of accelerated risk of illness have been identified in prior research, and among the most reliable predictors of ill health are social stressors, including abusive social relations in childhood. Early life adversity may lead to poorer mental health and physical functioning in midlife through various pathways; among the most likely paths are social in origin, including troubled family relationships, heightened sensitivity to interpersonal stressors, and social isolation. Is it possible to interrupt this cause-effect pairing between early adversity and illness in later life? The investigators examine that question. Specifically, the investigators address whether the individual differences in risk attributable to childhood adversity are reversible through a social intelligence (SI) intervention for an established cohort of community residents who were part of a comprehensive study of biopsychosocial markers of resilience at Mid-Life. The investigators have three primary objectives in this research:

1. To examine whether an SI intervention can enhance the capacity for rewarding social relations, especially for individuals with a history of early life adversity.
2. To examine evidence for the investigator's hypothesis that intervention-related gains in the quality of social relationship will be responsible for the improvements in psychological, and physical functioning, and influence two bio-markers of health risk and resilience: interleukin 6 (IL-6) and DHEA-S.
3. To probe for individual differences in age, gender, history of abuse, personality, and genetic markers of risk that identify participants most responsive to the intervention.

To address these questions, an SI intervention will be delivered to a random-selected half of 220 middle-aged participants: Half with a history of child abuse and half who did not report abuse. The program is an on-line self-instructional series of videos with awareness exercises and behavioral practices designed to enhance fund of knowledge about relationships, increase skills, and enhance motivation to engage socially. In addition to charting social relations with daily diaries, the investigators will assess participants' social, psychological, and physical functioning at pre-test, post-test, three months, and six months following the intervention. The investigators hypothesize that the SI intervention will prompt lasting improvement in the ability to establish, maintain, and benefit from social relations in comparison to controls, which will lead to better psychological and physical functioning. The investigators will examine evidence for the hypothesis that the benefits of the intervention will be largest for individuals who have experienced greater early childhood adversity, as well as probe other individual differences in receptivity to the SI program that will inform future efforts to refine, test and disseminate this innovative program.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Social Skills Social Interaction

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Social Intelligence Training

The social intelligence training is delivered online to individuals in midlife (ages 40 and older). This is the sole active treatment condition within this RCT.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Social Intelligence Training

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The social intelligence training consists of short 5-10 minute sessions organized into 7 modules designed to raise awareness of human nature and social relationships. The approach is based on evidence that social intelligence training is best advanced through interventions that modify key social cognitions regarding social engagement and enhance efficacy expectations regarding performance in social situations.

Attention Control

The attention control condition, known as The Healthy Living program provides information about different aspects of health.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

The Healthy Living Program

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

A placebo condition delivered online which presents health-related information only.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Social Intelligence Training

The social intelligence training consists of short 5-10 minute sessions organized into 7 modules designed to raise awareness of human nature and social relationships. The approach is based on evidence that social intelligence training is best advanced through interventions that modify key social cognitions regarding social engagement and enhance efficacy expectations regarding performance in social situations.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL