Table 1.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

	Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria
Study focus	• Studies examining factors that are associated with or influence older adults’ emotional support	• Studies only describing emotional support and/or assessing whether the emotional support needs are met but not assessing the association of any factors influencing older adults’ emotional support
Dependent variable	Emotional support, defined as a sole construct (expression of positive affect, empathetic understanding, and the encouragement of expressions of feelings) or in combination with informational support (offering of advice, information, guidance or feedback)	• Studies only assessing instrumental/tangible, positive social interaction, or affection social support without explicitly examining emotional support
Independent variables	• Socio-demographic and health characteristics of older adults (e.g., age, sex, marital status, race/ethnicity, chronic conditions) • Relationship factors (e.g., social network, early childhood experiences) • Community factors (e.g., availability of community programs and events) • Society related factors (e.g., ageism)
Study design	• Primary empirical quantitative studies regardless of the research design (e.g., randomized controlled trials, non-randomized trials with or without a control group, cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, time series or regression discontinuity designs) • Qualitative studies (e.g., qualitative interviews, focus groups, ethnographic observations, qualitative case studies) • Mixed-methods studies	• Research protocols, case reports, editorials, opinion papers, comments, newspaper articles, historical articles, lecture notes, presentations, personal narratives
Setting	• Older adult’s private home, apartment, rented home	• Studies focusing on nursing homes (residential long-term care), daycare/centers, rehabilitation centers, assisted living settings, hospitals
Population	• Studies that only include older adults age ≥ 65 •Studies that include older adults (≥ 65) and younger adults as long as results are reported separately for older adults	• Studies including no participants aged ≥ 65 years • Studies including older adults but not reporting results specific to this sub-group