GROUPS 4 HEALTH reduces loneliness and social anxiety in adults with psychological distress: findings from a randomized controlled trial
Haslam, C; Cruwys, T; Chang, MX-L; et al.Bentley, SV; Haslam, SA; Dingle, GA; Jetten, J
Date: 1 September 2019
Article
Journal
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Objective: Loneliness is a key public health issue for which various interventions have been
trialled. However, few directly target the core feature of loneliness—lack of belonging. This
is the focus of GROUPS 4 HEALTH (G4H), a recently developed intervention that targets the
development and maintenance of social group memberships ...
Objective: Loneliness is a key public health issue for which various interventions have been
trialled. However, few directly target the core feature of loneliness—lack of belonging. This
is the focus of GROUPS 4 HEALTH (G4H), a recently developed intervention that targets the
development and maintenance of social group memberships to support health.
Method: To investigate the efficacy of this intervention, a randomized controlled trial was
conducted with participants (N=120) assigned to G4H or treatment-as-usual (TAU) by
computer software. Assessment of primary (loneliness) and secondary (depression, social
anxiety, general practitioner visits, multiple group membership) outcomes was conducted at
baseline and 2-month follow-up using mixed-model repeated-measures analyses.
Results: G4H produced a greater reduction in loneliness (d = -1.16) and social anxiety (d = -
0.53) than TAU (ds =-0.36, 0.03, respectively). G4H was also associated with fewer general
practitioner visits at follow-up (d = -0.21) and a stronger sense of belonging to multiple
groups (d = 0.96) relative to TAU (d = 0.21, d = 0.42, respectively). Depression declined
significantly in both G4H (d = -0.67) and TAU (d = -0.35), but follow-up analyses showed
this was greater in G4H among those not receiving adjunct psychopharmacological treatment
and whose symptoms were milder.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that G4H can be a useful way to treat loneliness and highlight
the importance of attending to group memberships when tackling this important social
challenge.
Psychology - old structure
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