Pistrang Nancy, Barker Chris, Humphreys Keith
Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Am J Community Psychol. 2008 Sep;42(1-2):110-21. doi: 10.1007/s10464-008-9181-0.
This paper reviews empirical studies on whether participating in mutual help groups for people with mental health problems leads to improved psychological and social functioning. To be included, studies had to satisfy four sets of criteria, covering: (1) characteristics of the group, (2) target problems, (3) outcome measures, and (4) research design. The 12 studies meeting these criteria provide limited but promising evidence that mutual help groups benefit people with three types of problems: chronic mental illness, depression/anxiety, and bereavement. Seven studies reported positive changes for those attending support groups. The strongest findings come from two randomized trials showing that the outcomes of mutual help groups were equivalent to those of substantially more costly professional interventions. Five of the 12 studies found no differences in mental health outcomes between mutual help group members and non-members; no studies showed evidence of negative effects. There was no indication that mutual help groups were differentially effective for certain types of problems. The studies varied in terms of design quality and reporting of results. More high-quality outcome research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of mutual help groups across the spectrum of mental health problems.
本文回顾了关于参与心理健康问题互助小组是否能改善心理和社会功能的实证研究。纳入的研究必须满足四组标准，涵盖：（1）小组特征，（2）目标问题，（3）结果测量，以及（4）研究设计。符合这些标准的12项研究提供了有限但有前景的证据，表明互助小组对患有三种类型问题的人有益：慢性精神疾病、抑郁/焦虑和丧亲之痛。七项研究报告了参加支持小组的人有积极变化。最有力的发现来自两项随机试验，表明互助小组的结果与成本高得多的专业干预措施相当。12项研究中有五项发现互助小组成员和非成员在心理健康结果上没有差异；没有研究显示有负面影响的证据。没有迹象表明互助小组对某些类型的问题有不同的效果。这些研究在设计质量和结果报告方面各不相同。需要更多高质量的结果研究来评估互助小组在各类心理健康问题上的有效性。
