The Connection between Social Support and our Mental Health
A meta-analysis published in Electronic Physician provides an overview of research on the relationship between social support and mental health.
The analysis, conducted by researchers in Iran, combined data from 64 studies involving over 20,000 participants. The results suggest that social support has a moderate positive effect on mental health.
What the Research Found
The meta-analysis calculated the overall effect size measuring the correlation between social support and mental health across all 64 studies. On a scale of 0 to 1.0, with higher numbers indicating a stronger correlation, the average effect size was 0.356. According to conventional standards, this represents a medium or moderate correlation between social support and better mental health.
The study also found that certain factors influenced the strength of this relationship. The correlation between social support and mental health was stronger in studies with all female participants compared to all male or mixed groups.
The effect of social support also varied for different target populations - it had an especially high correlation with mental health for parents of disabled children, immigrants, and transgender individuals.
The analysis indicates that social support positively impacts mental health, but its effect depends on the individual's circumstances and demographics.
Implications of the Research
The authors conclude that social support protects mental health and suggest practical applications of the research findings:
- Training families, students, workers and vulnerable groups on the importance of social support
- Teaching strategies to improve supportive relationships
- Ensuring counseling services provide relationship-building skills
- Prioritizing social support services for populations where its mental health benefits are greatest
The meta-analysis reinforces that social support is a key factor influencing mental health. Boosting supportive relationships, especially for more vulnerable groups, can have significant positive effects.
Key learnings
But what what can we learn from this cross section of studies especially when we are in too much pain to leave the house? How can we get support, well there is the phone, but that doesn't add to the experience of a real connection with other people, or make them feel present in the room.
Social presence is the vital ingredient needed, this is where Virtual Reality shines, we can all come together, connect and talk as a group, just like we were all sat in the room together.
Soon 😉
