96 Chapter 4 INTRODUCTION Forensic psychiatric patients with chronic and severe mental problems can have difficulties in maintaining bonds with personal social networks and the community (Gerber et al., 2003; Murphy, 2000; ter Haar-Pomp et al., 2019). Bonds with social networks providing social support – supportive social networks – are important protective factors reducing the risk of criminal recidivism (Berg & Huebner, 2011; Bouman et al., 2010; Laub et al., 1998; Lodewijks et al., 2010). Previous research has provided evidence for the protective effects of several informal social bonds on criminal recidivism in various forensic populations. Strong bonds to individuals who are not involved in criminal activities (i.e., prosocial relationships), family relationships, strong romantic relationships, friendships, and bonds to social institutions providing opportunities for social participation predicted desistance from criminal behavior (Barrick et al., 2014; Berg & Huebner, 2011; Borowsky et al., 1997; Bouman et al., 2010; Klinger, Ross, & Bulla, 2020; Laub et al., 1998; Lodewijks et al., 2010). Simultaneously, a supportive social network consisting of individuals with criminal attitudes and behaviors is related to an increased risk of criminal recidivism (Bonta et al., 2014; Eisenberg et al., 2019). Furthermore, previous research has extensively established positive effects of social support on other relevant treatment outcomes, such as mental health recovery, wellbeing, and quality of life in (forensic) psychiatric populations (Jacoby & Kozie‐Peak, 1997; Klinger et al., 2020; Pinto, 2006; Schön et al., 2009). Therefore, interventions targeting social network enhancement in the community are potentially important in improving treatment outcomes of forensic psychiatric outpatients with limited supportive social networks. A promising intervention that can strengthen the social network in the community is (volunteer) befriending, which has been repeatedly studied in general and psychiatric populations (Mead et al., 2010; Siette et al., 2017). Within this intervention, often unpaid, volunteers with or without personal histories of mental health problems, are matched to individuals with a social network-related need. For example, volunteers are matched to individuals who express a desire to expand or strengthen their social network, or increase their involvement in social and recreational activities, over a period of time. Befriending programs are often provided by mental healthcare institutes (i.e., formal care) or external, voluntary organizations (i.e., informal care) involving recruitment, training, matching, as well as supervision and support of volunteers throughout the intervention (Siette et al., 2017; Thompson, Valenti, Siette, & Priebe, 2016). Despite these common elements of befriending interventions, multiple variants exist in the literature. The relationship between volunteer-participant dyads, referred to as befriending relationship, can be
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