Remotely-administered resilience and self-compassion intervention targeting loneliness and stress in older adults: a single-case experimental design

Abstract

Objectives

Loneliness and chronic stress are prevalent issues for older adults that have been linked to adverse health outcomes. We conducted a remote resilience and self-compassion intervention targeting loneliness and chronic stress.

Methods

This study utilized a multiple-phase-change single-case experimental design with three consecutive 6-week phases: control, intervention, follow-up. Assessments and biomarker collection (blood pressure, inflammation, sleep actigraphy) were conducted at each phase. Participants completed a 6-week remotely-administered resilience and self-compassion intervention using techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy and resilience training. Repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted over the 12-week period from control (week 0) to intervention completion (week 12) and over the 18-week period from control (week 0) to follow-up (week 18) in supplemental analyses.

Results

Participants reported a reduction in stress (p < 0.001; η_p² = 0.15), depression (p =  0.02; η_p² = 0.08), and loneliness (p = 0.003; η_p² = 0.18), and an increase in self-compassion (p  =  0.01; η_p² = 0.13) from control to intervention completion (weeks 0−12). Post-hoc tests revealed that stress reduced significantly during the intervention phase (weeks 6−12) and loneliness reduced significantly during the control phase (weeks 0−6). Some improvements in blood pressure, inflammation, and sleep quality were noted in a subsample of participants.

Conclusion

Findings indicate that our remote resilience and self-compassion intervention for older adults targeting loneliness and chronic stress was efficacious.

Keywords:

• Loneliness
• chronic stress
• wisdom
• mindfulness-based interventions
• positive psychiatry

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Barton W. Palmer for comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. We also want to acknowledge Drs. Dilip V. Jeste and Ellen E. Lee for their contributions to funding, data collection, and manuscript conceptualization.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Raw data are available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported, in part, by the Murray Galinson San Diego-Israel Initiative, by University of California San Diego’s T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion, by the National Institute of Mental Health NIMH T32 Geriatric Mental Health Program MH019934 (PI: Elizabeth Twamley), NIA R01AG061941 (PI: Brent T Mausbach), and by the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging.