A Meta-Analysis of Interventions to Reduce Loneliness

Social and demographic trends are placing an increasing number of adults at risk for loneliness, an established risk factor for physical and mental illness. The growing costs of loneliness have led to a number of loneliness reduction interventions. Qualitative reviews have identified four primary in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality and social psychology review 2011-08, Vol.15 (3), p.219-266
Main Authors: Masi, Christopher M., Chen, Hsi-Yuan, Hawkley, Louise C., Cacioppo, John T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Health Promotion - methods
Humans
Intervention
Loneliness
Medical sciences
Mental disorders
Mental Illness
Meta-analysis
Methodological Problems
Miscellaneous
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychotherapies. Psychological and clinical counseling
Psychotherapy - methods
Research Design
Risk
Risk factors
Social Adjustment
Social Competence
Social Contact
Social Perception
Social psychology
Social Support
Systematic review
Treatments
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Summary:Social and demographic trends are placing an increasing number of adults at risk for loneliness, an established risk factor for physical and mental illness. The growing costs of loneliness have led to a number of loneliness reduction interventions. Qualitative reviews have identified four primary intervention strategies: (a) improving social skills, (b) enhancing social support, (c) increasing opportunities for social contact, and (d) addressing maladaptive social cognition. An integrative meta-analysis of loneliness reduction interventions was conducted to quantify the effects of each strategy and to examine the potential role of moderator variables. Results revealed that single-group pre-post and nonrandomized comparison studies yielded larger mean effect sizes relative to randomized comparison studies. Among studies that used the latter design, the most successful interventions addressed maladaptive social cognition. This is consistent with current theories regarding loneliness and its etiology. Theoretical and methodological issues associated with designing new loneliness reduction interventions are discussed.
ISSN:1088-8683
1532-7957
DOI:10.1177/1088868310377394