# Social Connection and Suicide Risk in ADRD Caregivers

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2024 · $429,936

## Abstract

Social Connection & Suicide Risk in ADRD Caregivers
Providing care for a family member or friend with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD,
‘caregivers’) is a common experience for adults in mid- and later-life and can foster experiences that are
beneficial to mental health (e.g., purpose, mastery), but can also lead to anxiety, depression, and suicide
ideation. Our scientific premise is that social disconnection—the quality and quantity of social ties with others—
contributes to the most severe mental health problems during caregiving, including suicide ideation and
behavior. Social disconnection is a common experience among caregivers and is one of the strongest risk
factors for suicide ideation, attempts, and deaths. The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide proposes that stressors
such as caregiving increase suicide risk by impacting two forms of social disconnection—feeling lonely (also
termed low belonging) and like one is a burden on others (perceived burden). In line with NIA priorities of
promoting well-being in caregivers and understanding mechanisms, our objective is to examine loneliness (and
low belonging) and perceived burden on others as mechanisms that increase suicide risk in ADRD caregivers.
This study builds on our team’s work on social connection in ADRD caregivers via the Rochester Roybal
Center for Social Ties & Aging Research. Our pilot studies routinely assess suicide risk given the robust link
between social disconnection and suicide risk. We found that at least 10% of caregivers screened for our pilot
studies report suicide ideation in the past month. We propose an observational study of n=200 ADRD
caregivers who report caregiving stress, loneliness, and recent suicide ideation in which subjects complete
baseline interviews (to characterize caregiving and obtain histories of suicide ideation and behavior), 10 days
of smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (daily caregiving stressors and benefits, social
connection, and suicide ideation), and 6-month follow-up (changes in care receiver functional status). Our first
aim is to examine whether daily caregiving experiences are associated with daily variations in loneliness and
perceived burden. We hypothesize that caregiving mastery and sense of purpose in life will be associated with
lower loneliness and greater perceived burden, while caregiving strain, losses, and relationship conflict will be
associated with greater loneliness and perceived burden. Our second aim examines whether loneliness and
perceived burden predict daily variation in suicide ideation. We hypothesize that caregiving stressors will
predict suicide ideation via increases in loneliness and perceived burden. Our third aim is to examine whether
suicide ideation in caregivers is associated with worse caregiving outcomes in the short-term (next day
caregiving stress, fewer positive interactions) and longer-term (functional decline at 6-month follow-up).
Understanding mechanisms whereby caregivi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10910122
- **Project number:** 5R01AG082882-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Kimberly Allison Van Orden
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $429,936
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10910122

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10910122, Social Connection and Suicide Risk in ADRD Caregivers (5R01AG082882-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10910122. Licensed CC0.

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