Alvarez Clotilde Vazquez, Mirza Luwaiza, Das-Munshi Jayati, Oswald Tassia Kate
Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
University Hospitals Sussex, Sussex, UK.
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2025 Mar;60(3):549-562. doi: 10.1007/s00127-024-02722-1. Epub 2024 Aug 16.
Early adulthood is a period which may increase vulnerability to loneliness and mental health difficulties among young adults. Social networks play an important role in buffering against adverse mental health, but there is a lack of evidence around whether social connection interventions could play a role in preventing mental health difficulties for young adults.
A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted (PROSPERO ID: CRD42023395595). PubMed, PsycInfo, and Scopus were searched (01 January 2000-01 January 2023). Studies were eligible if they (i) were quantitative, (ii) included young adults (18-24 years) from the general population, (iii) tested a social intervention which aimed to increase the quantity or quality of social connections or reduce loneliness, (iv) had a comparison group, and (v) measured depression and loneliness/social connection as outcomes. Following study screening and selection, the data extraction and risk of bias assessments were independently conducted in duplicate. The Cochrane RoB-2 tool and ROBINS-I tool were used to assess risk of bias. Results were narratively synthesised and random effects meta-analysis with standardised mean differences was conducted.
Six studies were included; four in-person interventions with higher education students, one online intervention with higher education students, and one intervention for youth involved in street life. The studies were mostly rated as having some or moderate concerns with risk of bias. The interventions were associated with an overall mean reduction in depression for young adults (SMD = -0.19; 95% CI, -0.33 to -0.05; p = 0.008; 4 studies, excluding studies with serious risk of bias). All interventions had beneficial effects on a range of diverse social connection outcomes, but there was no overall statistically significant mean reduction in loneliness for young adults in pooled analyses (SMD = -0.10; 95% CI, -0.24 to 0.05; p = 0.188; 3 studies).
Social connection interventions show some promise in improving depression and social connection outcomes in young adults but more high-quality research, across diverse settings, is needed in this area.
成年早期是一个可能会增加年轻人孤独感和心理健康问题易感性的时期。社交网络在缓冲不良心理健康方面发挥着重要作用，但缺乏关于社交联系干预措施是否能在预防年轻人心理健康问题中发挥作用的证据。
进行了一项系统综述和荟萃分析（PROSPERO注册号：CRD42023395595）。检索了PubMed、PsycInfo和Scopus数据库（2000年1月1日至2023年1月1日）。纳入标准为：（i）定量研究；（ii）纳入来自普通人群的年轻人（18 - 24岁）；（iii）测试旨在增加社交联系数量或质量或减少孤独感的社会干预措施；（iv）有对照组；（v）将抑郁和孤独感/社交联系作为结局指标进行测量。在研究筛选和选择之后，数据提取和偏倚风险评估由两人独立进行。使用Cochrane RoB - 2工具和ROBINS - I工具评估偏倚风险。对结果进行叙述性综合，并进行标准化均数差的随机效应荟萃分析。
纳入六项研究；四项针对大学生的面对面干预，一项针对大学生的在线干预，一项针对街头生活青年的干预。这些研究大多被评为存在一些或中度的偏倚风险问题。这些干预措施与年轻人抑郁的总体平均减轻相关（标准化均数差 = -0.19；95%置信区间，-0.33至 -0.05；p = 0.008；4项研究，排除存在严重偏倚风险的研究）。所有干预措施对一系列不同的社交联系结局都有有益影响，但在汇总分析中，年轻人的孤独感总体上没有统计学上显著的平均减轻（标准化均数差 = -0.10；95%置信区间，-0.24至0.05；p = 0.188；3项研究）。
社交联系干预措施在改善年轻人抑郁和社交联系结局方面显示出一些前景，但该领域需要更多在不同环境下的高质量研究。
