A three-level meta-analysis of the effects of online social support interventions on psychological well-being...

Despite growing interest in technology-mediated mental health solutions, the efficacy of online social support interventions remains theoretically ambiguous and empirically inconsistent. To address this gap, we conducted a three-level meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of online social support interventions on psychological well-being. It synthesized 84 effect sizes from 32 studies involving a total of 10,776 participants. Our multilevel modeling revealed three key results: First, while aggregate effects showed nonsignificant improvements in psychological well-being at short-term and long-term, significant cross-study heterogeneity underscored contextual variability. Second, cultural context emerged as a moderator, with populations in Eastern countries demonstrating greater long-term maintenance of intervention effects. Intervention provider (professional vs. peer vs. mixed) showed a marginally significant impact on short-term effects. Our findings highlight that the effectiveness of online social support interventions is not inherent to the digital medium itself, but is profoundly influenced by the alignment between the support provider and the socio-cultural context of both providers and recipients. This emphasizes the need for theory-driven, customized interventions that integrate social and contextual elements to enhance psychological well-being.