Meta-Analysis of the Associations between Social Support and Health Outcomes

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this review was to determine the effect of different types of social support on physical, psychological, and stress-related health outcomes. Meta-analysis was used to aggregate research findings across sixty published and seven unpublished studies with 11 to 3,725 subjects per study. Study results were grouped according to operationally defined categories of social support and types of health outcomes. Data from these studies were then standardized, weighted by sample size, and effect size calculated. Effect size results of the grouped studies of social support and types of health outcomes ranged from –.02 to .22. Effect size results were equivalent when comparing studies grouped by gender of subjects, longitudinal versus cross-sectional design, and high or low quality (as rated on internal and external design validity). These effect size results between social support and the health outcomes measured indicate small amounts of shared variance that may not be considered significant nor generalizable. Conceptual and methodological issues that may have contributed to small effect size results are described herein. These findings counter the generally held assumptions that social support is associated with improved health outcomes. The need for continued research into the negative aspects of social support and suggestions for further refinement of a situation-specific support paradigm are offered.

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