Are Loneliness Interventions Effective for Reducing Loneliness? A Meta-Analytic Review of 280 Studies

Loneliness is increasingly recognized as a critical public health concern, with growing evidence of the effectiveness of interventions to reduce loneliness across the lifespan. This preregistered systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of interventions to reduce loneliness. The systematic review identified 312 studies. The meta-analysis included 280 studies (273 studies of short-term effects; 72 studies of long-term effects).