Support for aging family caregivers of adults with autism and developmental disabilities
Official title: Family caregivers in later life: A longitudinal study of well-being and mental health in families of adults with autism and developmental disabilities
Funded at University of California Los Angeles · NIH-11303383 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows older family caregivers of adults with autism to learn how social connections and life changes affect their mental health and well-being.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Los Angeles NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | March 15, 2023 |
| Project end | February 29, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $651,373 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG080599-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11303383 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Primary family caregivers in later life (typically in their 60s) who care for an adult son or daughter with autism or another developmental disability are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not family caregivers of adults with developmental disabilities, or caregivers of young children only, are unlikely to gain direct benefit from participating.
What this research studies
You would join a long-term project that builds on 20–30 years of data tracking families of people with autism and developmental disabilities. Over five years the team will collect questionnaires, app-based daily diaries, and face-to-face interviews, plus exploratory measures of biological and cognitive aging. The study links these new measures to decades of past behavioral information to map how social connectedness, retirement, or your adult child's living situation influence stress and mood. The goal is to identify coping strategies and life moments where extra support could help caregivers stay mentally healthy as they age.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could point to specific supports, timing, and strategies that reduce caregiver isolation and protect mental health in later life.
How similar studies have gone: Prior long-term caregiver research has linked social support to better mental health, but combining decades of cohort data with real-time app diaries and biological aging measures is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lord, Catherine — University of California Los Angeles
- Study coordinator: Lord, Catherine
Related research
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.