{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T12:31:21Z","timestamp":1787315481150,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785542400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["lww.com","ovid.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n Background:<\/jats:title>\n Affiliate stigma among caregivers of individuals with severe mental illnesses remains a significant yet underaddressed issue, with limited evidence from randomized controlled trials evaluating targeted stigma-reduction interventions.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Aim:<\/jats:title>\n To evaluate the effectiveness of the Intervention for Caregiver Affiliate Stigma REduction (i-CARE) in reducing affiliate stigma among caregivers of individuals with severe mental illnesses (SMIs), compared with a time- and attention-matched sham intervention, using a randomized controlled design.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods:<\/jats:title>\n A single-center, randomized, single-blind, parallel-group superiority trial was conducted among 80 caregivers of individuals with SMIs, and 57 completed the 3-week follow-up assessment. The intervention group received i-CARE, a structured program targeting affiliate stigma. The control group received a sham intervention consisting of time-matched general interaction and clinical evaluation without stigma-focused components. Affiliate stigma was measured using the Affiliate Stigma Scale (ASS) at baseline and post intervention.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results:<\/jats:title>\n \n Of the enrolled participants, 54 were allocated to the intervention group and 26 to the sham group. Intention-to-treat analysis using mixed-model ANOVA demonstrated a significant main effect of time and a significant time \u00d7 intervention interaction (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n < 0.001). The intervention group showed a significant reduction in ASS scores from 48.57 \u00b1 14.52 to 42.56 \u00b1 11.62 (\n P<\/jats:italic>\n < 0.001), with a moderate effect size (0.44). Improvements were sustained at the 3-week follow-up. No adverse events were reported.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions:<\/jats:title>\n i-CARE demonstrated promising short-term effectiveness in reducing affiliate stigma among caregivers of individuals with SMIs. However, longer-term evaluations are needed to develop interventions capable of producing more durable effects.<\/jats:p>\n \n Trial Registration:<\/jats:bold>\n CTRI\/2022\/01\/039333\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.4103\/indianjpsychiatry_26_26","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T16:17:22Z","timestamp":1787242642000},"page":"724-731","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/lww.0000000000001000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Single-blind, parallel-group randomized sham-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of a single-session Intervention for caregiver affiliate stigma REduction (i-CARE) in severe mental illnesses"],"prefix":"10.4103","volume":"68","author":[{"given":"Tanve","family":"Garg","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, 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