Internet-based interventions for loneliness : Efficacy and latent psychopathological profiles of treatment seekers

Abstract

decrease in loneliness was sustained, along with similarly lasting effects on the secondary outcomes of interest.Study IV aimed to replicate the findings from the second study with a similar ICBT programme. However, this study also employed an internet-based IPT intervention to allow for conclusions regarding the possibility of reducing loneliness by other means than CBT. A sample of 170 participants were recruited and randomised to one the treatment conditions or to a waitlist control group. The results indicated that the ICBT condition had a significantly steeper reduction in loneliness than both the waitlist and the IPT condition after the conclusion of the treatment. Both active conditions produced a significant increase in quality of life.In conclusion, internet-based psychological interventions can be efficacious for reducing loneliness, though the efficacy was only found for participants who received access to the ICBT condition in Study II and IV. The benefits from this treatment programme were sustained up to two years after the conclusion of the intervention. For these reasons, ICBT is proposed to be a good candidate for offering help to people experiencing distressing feelings of loneliness.