Are quantitative targets for social network size and interaction frequency appropriate for public health guidelines on social connection? Evidence from loneliness and related mental health outcomes
Jorge Andrés Delgado-Ron, Heather Orpana, Charlotte Roddick, Kate Mulligan, Elizabeth C Pinel, Peter J Helm, John L Oliffe, Robert J Coplan, Cecilia Benoit, Steve Joordens, Shayna Skakoon-Sparling, Kiffer George Card · 2026
Read Are quantitative targets for social network size and interaction frequency appropriate for public health guidelines on social connection? Evidence from loneliness and related mental health outcomes by Jorge Andrés Delgado-Ron, Heather Orpana, Charlotte Roddick, Kate Mulligan, Elizabeth C Pinel, Peter J Helm, John L Oliffe, Robert J Coplan, Cecilia Benoit, Steve Joordens, Shayna Skakoon-Sparling, Kiffer George Card (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13595011.txt.
Description
A twelve-author team asks whether public health guides should set numeric targets for social life, in a 2026 study. Some guidelines suggest fixed counts, such as a set number of close friends or weekly meetups, to fight loneliness. The evidence behind such cutoffs is shaky, so the team hunted for natural breakpoints in Canadian survey data.
They analyzed repeated surveys from 2021 to 2024 with about thirteen hundred respondents. Loneliness, mood, anxiety, and self-esteem all improved with more close friends, up to a point. The leveling point differed by outcome: around three to four friends for emotional loneliness and mood, nearer seven for social loneliness. Days spent with friends showed weaker threshold patterns. Results also varied for people screening positive for depression or anxiety. The authors warn that one universal number would mislead; targets, if used, must fit the outcome and the group.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Jorge Andrés Delgado-Ron, Heather Orpana, Charlotte Roddick, Kate Mulligan, Elizabeth C Pinel, Peter J Helm, John L Oliffe, Robert J Coplan, Cecilia Benoit, Steve Joordens, Shayna Skakoon-Sparling, Kiffer George Card |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 48 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |