Compassion-Based Family Intervention for Adolescents

NCT07138417 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: CASPsy8
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Adolescents with emotional disorders (such as depression or anxiety) often experience distress that also affects their parents, creating a cycle of stress within the family. This study tests a new compassion-based family intervention designed to help both adolescents and their parents. The program includes six weekly sessions (120 minutes each). The study will recruit 60 parent-adolescent dyads. Half will receive the intervention immediately; the other half will wait 6 weeks before receiving it. We will measure changes in depression, anxiety, parenting stress, family relationships, and - using brain imaging (fNIRS) and heart rate monitors - how the intervention affects parent-child emotional and physiological synchrony. Assessments will take place before the intervention, right after, and at 3-month and 6-month follow-ups. The goal is to see whether this family-focused compassion program can improve mental health for both adolescents and their parents.

Conditions

Emotional Disorder

Keywords

Emotional disorder; adolescents; compassion; parents

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

• Perceived emotional synchrony

  Using the score of Perceived Emotional Synchrony Scale to assess perceived emotional synchrony of parents and children respectively. Perceived emotional synchrony scale (16-item version): items rated 1-7; the investigators report mean subscale scores (range 1-7) for Emotional Communion (items 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15) and Felt Unity (items 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16). Higher scores indicate greater perceived emotional synchrony (better outcome).

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

• Self-Compassion

  Using the Self-Compassion Scale to assess self-compassion levels of parents and children respectively. Self-Compassion Scale (SCS): 26 items rated 1-5; the investigators report the mean score (range 1-5). Higher scores indicate greater self-compassion (better outcome).

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

• Fears of Compassion

  Using the Fears of Compassion Scales to assess fears of compassion levels of parents and children respectively. Fears of Compassion Scales (FCS): three subscales rated 0-4 - Fear of Compassion for Self (15 items; total 0-60), Fear of Compassion for Others (10 items; total 0-40), and Fear of Receiving Compassion from Others (13 items; total 0-52). Higher scores indicate greater fear of compassion (worse outcome).

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

• Parenting Stress

  Using the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form to assess parenting stress. Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF): 36 items rated 1-5; the investigators report the total score (range 36-180). Higher scores indicate greater parenting stress (worse outcome).

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

• Children's depression levels

  Using the Children's Depression Inventory scale to assess children's depression levels. Children's Depression Inventory (CDI): 27 items rated 0-2; the investigators report the total score (range 0-54). Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms (worse outcome).

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

• Children's anxiety levels

  Using the Beck Anxiety Inventory to assess children's anxiety levels. Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI): 21 items rated 0-3; the investigators report the total score (range 0-63). Higher scores indicate more severe anxiety (worse outcome).

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

• Parent-child neural synchrony (fNIRS hyperscanning)

  Wavelet transform coherence (WTC) was computed from oxy-hemoglobin (ΔHbO) and deoxy-hemoglobin (ΔHbR) signals measured by fNIRS during an emotional video task. The primary outcome is the WTC value in the 0.02-0.1 Hz frequency band, reflecting brain-to-brain synchrony. Higher coherence indicates stronger neural synchrony.

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

• Heart rate variability (HRV)

  Heart rate variability (HRV) metrics in parents and children were measured using wearable wristbands (Huawei Band 8) throughout both the emotional video task and group intervention sessions.

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (11)

• Parenting styles

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

• Parenting styles in children's view

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

• Parent-child relationships in parents' view

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

• Parent-child relationships in children's view

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

• Nonclinging to Ego

  baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3, 6 month follow-up

Study Arms (2)

Compassion-based family intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive a 6-week compassion-based family intervention (one 120-min session per week).

Other: Compassion-Based Family Intervention

Waiting list control group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants receive no intervention during the 6-week waiting period and then receive the same intervention after the waiting period.

Interventions

Compassion-Based Family Intervention OTHER

A 6-week program (120 minutes weekly) combining theoretical content and group activities, with additional home practice (emotion diaries and meditation). Content focuses on cultivating self-compassion, compassion for others, emotion awareness, communication skills, and conflict management.

Compassion-based family intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 12 Years - 18 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• the adolescent is aged 12-18 years
• for the adolescent, required scores at enrollment: at least one of the following criteria is met (i) 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) (Hamilton, 1960) total score ≥17 and ≤30, (ii) Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) (Hamilton, 1959) total score ≥18 and ≤29; and in addition, the item 3 score of HAMD-17 (suicide) must be ≤2
• at least one parent is willing to participate
• the adolescent has normal auditory and visual perception abilities and intellectual level
• the participating parent has normal reading and writing ability
• the adolescent has no history of manic episodes

You may not qualify if:

• the adolescent presents with psychotic symptoms, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia
• the parent suffers from a mental illness or psychological disorder
• the adolescent or their parent has a history of substance abuse
• the adolescent or their parent has a severe neurological disorder or major physical disease
• the adolescent or their parent is assessed as having high suicide risk

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

Hefei Fourth People's Hospital (Anhui Mental Health Center; Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University)

Hefei, Anhui, 230022, China

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Dongmei Wang, Ph.D

  Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Science

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Dongmei Wang, Ph.D

CONTACT

+86 132 4190 1959; wangdm@psych.ac.cn

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 30, 2025
• First Posted: August 22, 2025
• Study Start: August 30, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2027
• Last Updated: May 6, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)