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Cited by 287Health disparities and outcomesChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentBullying, Victimization, and Aggression

Review: Alleviating loneliness in young people – a meta‐analysis of interventions

Open access
Eccles, Alice M., Qualter, Pamela·2021·Child and Adolescent Mental Health
DOI 10.1111/camh.12389
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Abstract

Background: Loneliness is common among youth and is associated with poor physical and mental health, and poor educational outcomes. To date, there have been no meta‐analyses of interventions aimed at reducing loneliness among young people. Methods: We conducted meta‐analyses of single group and randomised control trials (RCTs) of studies published between 1980 and 2019, which measured loneliness as an outcome in youth ages 25 years or younger. Moderators, including sample demographics and intervention characteristics, that might affect intervention success, were examined. Results: A total of 39 studies (14 single group and 25 RCTs) were included, and we found evidence that youth loneliness could be reduced via intervention. Moderator analysis – including intervention characteristics, study quality and sample demographics – was also examined. Conclusions: While interventions were shown to reduce loneliness among youth, the interventions included in the meta‐analyses often targeted youth viewed to be at risk – for example those with health concerns – and rarely did the interventions target youth who reported loneliness. There is also no indication of whether youth experienced chronic or transient loneliness. In future work, interventions should be designed specifically for loneliness, with universal programmes helping youth manage their transient feelings of loneliness, and targeted interventions for those suffering from chronic loneliness. There is also a need to look at socioeconomic and other risk factors outside the individual for targeted interventions. Key Practitioner Message: There have been no meta‐analyses that have evaluated the effect of interventions for reducing loneliness among children and adolescents. We found intervention programmes targeted at youth are successful at reducing loneliness. Future interventions should be designed specially with loneliness in mind, with (a) universal programmes to help youth manage their experiences of transient loneliness, and (b) targeted interventions for youth reporting chronic loneliness. They should also examine the longer‐term outcomes of the interventions. Future interventions should be designed, evaluated and then documented using guidelines on how to write up an intervention evaluation.

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  • The pre-post design used in studies 3-5 is the standard approach to test intervention effects in the loneliness literature because it affords more precise estimates and enables assessing successful randomization.

    “The pre-post design that we used in studies 3-5 for the measurement of loneliness is the standard approach to test the effect of interventions in the loneliness literature (e.g., Eccles and Qualter 2021; Poscia et al. 2018), because it affords more precise estimates of the effect of interventions (by calibrating the effect at the individual level) and because it enables assessing successful random”

    From AI Companions Reduce Loneliness (2024) · cites this paper as Eccles and Qualter 2021

    The Effect size calculation section (p. 3) uses preintervention and post-treatment scores to evaluate interventions, and the review includes pre–post studies. It does not say that a pre–post design is the standard approach, produces more precise individual-level estimates, or enables assessment of successful randomization. The Limitations section (p. 15) instead cautions that single-group comparisons can overestimate effects and recommends control groups for reliable evaluation. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Social and emotional learning programs have shown promising results before the pandemic and have been encouraged during the pandemic.

    “Social and emotional learning programs have shown promising results before the pandemic [73] and have been encouraged during the pandemic [74].”

    From Loneliness and Well-Being in Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review (2023) · cites this paper as [73]

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1 of the 83 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Junttila, N., & Vauras, M. (2009). Loneliness among schoolaged children and their parents. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology , 50 , 211 -219.

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Authors
Eccles, A. M., & Qualter, P.
Affiliations
  • University of Lancashire (GB)
  • University of Manchester (GB)
Corresponding author
Eccles, Alice M.
ORCID
Venue
Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2020-05-13
Volume
26
Issue
1
Pages
17-33
ISSN
  • 1475-357X (ISSN-L)
  • 1475-3588
DOI
10.1111/camh.12389
OpenAlex
W3011588871
Cited by
285
References
83
Citations by year
2026: 44 · 2025: 54 · 2024: 61 · 2023: 57 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 4 · 2012: 1
FWCI
4.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Child and Adolescent Mental Health (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • CLOK (University of Central Lancashire) (acceptedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
Keywords
loneliness, youth, loneliness interventions, adolescents, children, chronic loneliness, targeted interventions, intervention effectiveness, mental health, social isolation
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Child, Humans, Loneliness, Mental Health

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