Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
Increasing social support for individuals with serious mental illness: evaluating the compeer model of intentional
Brian H McCorkle1, E Sally Rogers, Erin C Dunn
1The Albert & Jessie Danielsen Institute at Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract:
We conducted a quasi-experimental study of Compeer, which matches community volunteers and people with SMI to increase social support. Seventy-five adults with SMI received community psychiatric treatments-usual (TAU) while 79 adults received Compeer services plus TAU. Compeer clients reported significant improvements in social support and a trend towards improved subjective well-being. After 6 months, social support increased >1 SD for 13%, increasing to 23% at 12 months, supporting qualitative research suggesting the "active ingredient" in intentional friendships often takes more than 1 year to develop. This subgroup of responders showed significant gains in subjective well-being and reductions in psychiatric symptoms.
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