Effects of befriending on depressive symptoms and distress: systematic review and meta-analysis

High rates of emotional distress and depressive symptoms in the community can reflect difficult life events and social circumstances. There is a need for appropriate, low-cost, non-medical interventions for many individuals. Befriending is an emotional support intervention commonly offered by the voluntary sector.

To examine the effectiveness of befriending in the treatment of emotional distress and depressive symptoms.

Systematic review of randomised trials of interventions focused on providing emotional support to individuals in the community.

Compared with usual care or no treatment, befriending had a modest but significant effect on depressive symptoms in the short term (standardised mean difference SMD = -0.27, 95% CI -0.48 to -0.06, nine studies) and long term (SMD = -0.18, 95% CI -0.32 to -0.05, five studies).

Befriending has a modest effect on depressive symptoms and emotional distress in varied patient groups. Further exploration of active ingredients, appropriate target populations and optimal methods of delivery is required.