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Nuorten yksinäisyys ja ei ensisijaisesti siihen kohdistuvien psykososiaalisten interventioiden vaikuttavuus: systemaattinen kirjallisuuskatsaus ja meta-analyysi

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: : Objective. Loneliness is an increasing global mental health concern, with the highest prevalence among adolescents and young adults. Experiencing loneliness is a risk factor contributing to several mental health and physical illnesses like depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, hypertension, and even overall mortality. Given the apparent bidirectional relationship between mental health and loneliness, interventions targeting mental health may also influence loneliness outcomes. In this Master’s thesis, I provide a narrative and meta-analytic synthesis of the current literature on interventions in which loneliness is a secondary outcome. I examine whether these interventions reduce loneliness among adolescents and young adults, and whether effects vary across study settings. Methods. I conducted a systematic review in accordance to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The literature search was run across four databases, and eligibility criteria were defined using the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Study design, and Language (PICOS-L) framework. Included studies were quantitatively reported clinical trials (intervention group n ≥ 10) examining psychosocial interventions targeting adolescents and young adults (mage 13-29), with pre-post changes in loneliness. Multiple meta-regressions were run to investigate potential subgroup differences in loneliness change (intervention category, control group type, loneliness measure, and publication recency). Quality of included articles was appraised using the MMAT. Results. The search identified 41 studies, of which 16 provided sufficient data for a random-effects meta-analysis. Interventions were grouped into six categories and showed an overall small but significant reduction in loneliness (g = -0.189, p = .003). Effects were significant only for social support interventions, and for comparisons against no-treatment controls, while no effects were found against active controls. Significant effects were also observed in studies using the UCLA Loneliness Scale, whereas results varied by publication recency and other loneliness measures. Conclusions. Overall, interventions with loneliness as a secondary variable appear to produce modest but meaningful reductions in youth loneliness, supporting their potential for broader implementation. Further research using standardized measures and rigorous designs is needed to clarify which approaches are most effective to support youth mental health within different contexts.
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7201097714
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