Table 1.
Summary of Meta-analyses on social support and health/disease using correlation as effect size measure.
| Meta-analysis | Published/Unpublished studies | Participants + countries-continents | Design | Social support measures | Outcome measures | Moderators/Confounders | Heterogeneity/Publication bias | Effect size measure | Summary effect size [95% C.I.] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith et al. (1994) | 60/7 | 23,491 5 countries 3 continents |
Longitudinal + cross-sectional | Quantitative Qualitative Functional |
Health: Physical health (+) Psychological health (+) Stress (+) |
Age, gender Design Study quality |
No/Yes | Correlation | 0.15 [0.08 0.22]* Physical: From 0.005 to 0.22 Psychological: From 0.095 to 0.158 Stress: From 0.092 to 0.182 |
| Wang et al. (2003) | 37/145 (42 with clinical variables) | Over 4,072 Taiwan |
Cross-sectional | Combined: General index of social support |
Health/Disease: Clinical variables: Health status (+) Physical symptoms (–) Psychological symptoms (–) Depression (–) |
NR | Yes/No | Correlation | Health status: 0.25 [0.21 0.29] Physical symptoms: −0.63 [−0.68 −0.59] Psychological symptoms: −0.25 [−0.29 −0.21] Depression: −0.63 [−0.68 −0.58] |
| Harandi et al. (2017) | 51/13 | 24,002 Iran |
Cross-sectional | Combined: General index of social support |
Mental health: General health questionnaire (+) |
Gender Target population Sampling method Measure instrument |
Yes/Yes | Correlation | 0.33 [0.283 0.360] Social support questionnaires: From 0.076 to 0.481 Health questionnaires: From 0.306 to 0.52 |
| Guilaran et al. (2018) | 24 | 23,520 7 countries 4 continents |
Longitudinal + cross-sectional | Functional: Perceived Received Lack of support Negative support Structural: Social integration |
Health/Disease: In disaster responders Positive psychological outcome (+) Negative psychological outcome (–) |
Age Gender Health status Measures time lag Type of support Type of responder |
Yes/Yes | Correlation | 0.19 [NR] Negative psychological outcome for perceived support: −0.20 [−0.25 −0.14] Positive psychological outcome for Perceived support: 0.41 [0.33 0.49] |
| Schiller et al. (2021) | 21 | 2,273 Western countries Korea Thailand India |
Longitudinal + cross-sectional | Functional: Perceived Received |
Disease: Depression in family caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (–) |
Type of support Source of support (partner, ASD child, siblings, family, friends, professionals) |
Yes/Yes | Correlation | −0.26 [−0.35 −0.18] Perceived: −0.30 [−0.40 −0.18] Received: −0.19 [−0.40 0.04] NS Partner: −0.37 [−0.42 −0.31], ASD child: −0.21 [−0.29 −0.11] Family: −0.27 [−0.41 −0.11], Profess: −0.18 [−0.32 −0.04] |
| Zalta et al. (2021) | 176 | 88,595 5 continents |
Longitudinal + cross-sectional | Functional: Perceived Enacted Negative social reactions Structural: Structural social support |
Disease: PTSD symptom severity (–) |
Age, Gender Type of support Type of trauma Support provider Various methodological variables |
Yes/Yes | Correlation | Cross-sectional studies: −0.27 [−0.30 −0.24] Longitudinal studies: −0.25 [−0.28 −0.21] |
NR, not reported; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder; ASD, autism spectrum disorder;
*
Estimated average [and 95% C.I.] from the weighted effect sizes of the three social support measures.