Social support and protection from depression: systematic review of current findings in Western countries

Numerous studies report an association between social support and protection from depression, but no systematic review or meta-analysis exists on this topic.

To review systematically the characteristics of social support (types and source) associated with protection from depression across life periods (childhood and adolescence; adulthood; older age) and by study design (cross-sectional v cohort studies). METHOD: A systematic literature search conducted in February 2015 yielded 100 eligible studies. Study quality was assessed using a critical appraisal checklist, followed by meta-analyses.