Chronic Stress, Early Life Adversity
Conditions
Brief summary
Growing up in a low-income household has been shown to increase risk for, and susceptibility to many illnesses.The purpose of the study is to test an affective intervention for reversing biological risk factors, as related to childhood adversity, in midlife. Participants will be asked to make two lab visits; attend six weekly, 1-hour meditation classes; as well as complete brief online daily surveys for 11 weeks, five biweekly surveys, and two 30-minute surveys prior to each lab visit. During the lab visits, participants will have their psychophysiology monitored for heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and pulse. Participants will also have their blood drawn. All surveys and questionnaires inquire about participants' current demographics, family history, perceptions about life and well-being, physical health, and monetary choices.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMeditation Workshop
Six weeks of formal instruction in Lovingkindness or Mindfulness meditation.
Sponsors
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
35 Years to 64 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* fluent in written and spoken English * have daily access to internet and a computer
Exclusion criteria
* engaged in regular meditation practice, either recently or in the past * previously participated in a meditation study * have allergies to adhesive materials (includes latex)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in meditation time (Self-reported meditation time recorded daily) | Weeks 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ,10, 11, 12 | Self-reported meditation time recorded daily. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Leukocyte basal gene expression (evaluated through blood samples) | Week 0, Week 12 | Gene expression evaluated through blood samples. |
| Levels of mistrust (Self-report questionnaire measure of hostility using 9-item Cooke-Medley scale) | Week 0, Week 12 | Self-report questionnaire measure of hostility using 9-item Cooke-Medley scale. |
| Temporal Discounting (Monetary choice questionnaire to assess impulsive decision-making) | Week 0, Week 12 | Monetary choice questionnaire to assess impulsive decision-making. |
| Cardiac vagal tone (Respiration and echocardiogram measured with respiration band and 2-lead electrode placement) | Week 0, Week 12 | Respiration and echocardiogram measured with respiration band and 2-lead electrode placement, respectively. Three-minute spontaneous breath followed by five minutes of paced breathing intervals. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed