29 Review of social network intervention studies 2 To date, the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of social network interventions for psychiatric patients is inconclusive. Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses revealed modest positive results of volunteer/peer linkage interventions, such as befriending (Siette et al., 2017) and peer supported interventions (Barnett et al., 2022; Killaspy et al., 2022; Shorey & Chua, 2022; Smit et al., 2022), on treatment outcomes and recovery among psychiatric populations. Furthermore, multiple previous systematic reviews suggested that interventions directly focused on the development and maintenance of social relationships in the community and social or community participation may be most effective in enhancing social networks of psychiatric patients (Anderson et al., 2015; Barnett et al., 2022; Brooks et al., 2022; Webber & Fendt-Newlin, 2017). Although positive effects of social skills training on social network and treatment outcomes were demonstrated, previous research suggests that these interventions should include techniques to improve on social functioning and skills in real life (Barnett et al., 2022; Hoy, Roher, & Duncan, 2023; Killaspy et al., 2022; Turner et al., 2018). Despite beforementioned research suggesting promising results of several types of social network interventions in psychiatric populations, a recent meta-analysis, including eight studies, found only a small overall effect of social network interventions on perceived social support in psychiatric outpatients (Beckers, Maassen, Koekkoek, Tiemens, & Hutschemaekers, 2022). The previous reviews have offered valuable insights, yet several limitations exist. For example, some reviews included support group interventions providing enhancement of support between peers in the therapeutic environment (Anderson et al., 2015; Lloyd-Evans et al., 2014; Webber & Fendt-Newlin, 2017), thus the effects of enhancement of supportive social networks in real life, outside the psychiatric healthcare practice, remain unclear. Furthermore, most reviews included non-psychiatric populations (Andersson, 1998; Hogan et al., 2002; Hunter et al., 2019; Latkin & Knowlton, 2015; Mead et al., 2010; Siette et al., 2017). Reviews including psychiatric populations only studied specific types of interventions, a limited number of outcome measures, or a specific type of psychiatric population, which resulted in the inclusion of a limited number of independent studies (Beckers et al., 2022; Brooks et al., 2022; Lloyd-Evans et al., 2014; Webber & Fendt-Newlin, 2017). In short, evidence from previous reviews regarding the effectiveness of social network interventions is limited due to an absent focus on interventions aimed at social network enhancement in real life, psychiatric populations, and a broader range of mental health outcomes. The current meta-analysis aims to add to the literature by focusing on the effectiveness of social network interventions directly targeted at improving social networks in real life, in
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