Interventions designed to reduce loneliness can be effective, but do not yet offer a complete solution to what is becoming a worldwide public health problem, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

“Our findings provide strong evidence that interventions can make a difference, though their overall impact remains modest,"  said lead author Mathias Lasgaard, PhD, of the Central Denmark Region and University of Southern Denmark. "Loneliness does not have a one-size-fits-all solution.”

Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 280 studies on the effectiveness of strategies to reduce loneliness, comprising more than 30,000 participants around the world. Nearly half of the interventions took place in North America (45%) and over one-fifth in Europe (22%), with fewer conducted in the Middle East (14%) and Asia (13%).

The study analyzed five primary types of intervention strategies aimed at reducing loneliness: social support (providing regular care and companionship); social network interventions (creating opportunities for social interaction); social and emotional skills training; psychological interventions (providing therapy or counseling services targeting cognition, behavior or emotions); and psychoeducation (providing educational programs intended to increase knowledge of loneliness and its effects).

Researchers found that all of these interventions reduced feelings of loneliness, but psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy showed the strongest effects. Digital-only programs tended to be less effective compared with in-person approaches. The benefits were consistent across children and adolescents, adults and older adults, and effects were sustained for up to six months.

While the findings are encouraging, researchers noted that the certainty of the evidence was “low to very low,” due to methodological shortcomings in the studies included in the analysis, such as small sample sizes, high dropout rates and a lack of targeted recruitment of people reporting loneliness.

Nevertheless, Lasgaard said, “By pinpointing psychological interventions, group-based interventions, and in-person programs as most effective, the study gives policymakers and practitioners guidance today, while pointing to the need for further refinement tomorrow.”

To download a pdf of the study, published in the American Psychologist, click here