SynthesisAddiction (Abingdon, England)2022
Affected other interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis across addictions.
Synthesis in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for adults with substance use disorder that have a co-occurring mental health disorder: an umbrella review and illustrative cost-effectiveness analysis.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2026Pooled it
- The Efficacy of Psychosocial Interventions in Minimising the Harm Caused to Affected Others of Problem Gambling: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of gambling studies · 2023Pooled it
- Affected other interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis across addictions.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Pooled it
- Potential predictors affecting outcomes in a randomized controlled trial of support programs for parents of young adults with hazardous substance use.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Trial
- Web-Based Coping Skills Training and Coach Support for Women Living With a Partner With an Alcohol Use Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- 'Before, we ended up in conflicts, now we can provide support'-Experiences of Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) for parents of young adults with hazardous substance use.BMC psychiatry · 2024Trial
- A shift in focus: Mothers' descriptions of sharing a child with a co-parent with unhealthy alcohol use after participating in a support program.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2023Trial
- A social cascades model of addiction: Examining effects of psychological interventions on social and substance use outcomes via meta-analytic review.Psychological bulletin · 2026Article
- Problem gambling and affected others: health, relational and economic outcomes across longitudinal trajectories in a population-based Swedish study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Addiction across substance use, gambling, and screen: a scoping review of coping strategies adopted by concerned significant others.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2026Article
- Problem Gambling Transmission. An Eight-wave Longitudinal Study on Problem Gambling Among Affected Others.Journal of gambling studies · 2026Article
- A Web-Based Well-Being and Resilience Intervention for Family Members and Friends Supporting a Loved One Using Alcohol and Other Drugs: Mixed Methods Pilot Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Social Influence and Problematic Drinking: Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic.Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science · 2025Article
- The Practice and Feasibility of Screening, Treatment, and Referral for Gaming Problems in Gambling, Alcohol and Other Drugs, and Youth Services.International journal of mental health and addiction · 2023Article
- Closing the treatment gap for alcohol use disorders in low- and middle-income countries.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2023Review
- Gambling-related harms to concerned significant others: A national Australian prevalence study.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsIndividuals impacted by someone else's alcohol, illicit drug, gambling and gaming problems (affected others) experience extensive harms. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions delivered to affected others across addictions.
methodsThis review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. An electronic database search (PsycInfo, Medline, Cinahl and EMBASE) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published until August 2021 was conducted. RCTs with passive control groups, evaluating psychosocial tertiary interventions delivered to affected others of people with addictions (problematic alcohol use, substance use, gambling or gaming) that did not require the involvement of the addicted person, were included.
resultsTwenty included studies, published in 22 articles, mainly evaluated interventions for alcohol use, followed by gambling and illicit drugs, with none investigating gaming interventions. The interventions mainly targeted partners/spouses and focused upon improving affected other outcomes, addicted person outcomes or both. Meta-analyses revealed beneficial intervention effects over control groups on some affected other (depressive symptomatology [standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.67, -0.29], life satisfaction (SMD = -0.37, 95% CI = -0.71, -0.03) and coping style (SMD = -1.33, 95% CI = -1.87, -0.79), addicted person [treatment entry, risk ratio (RR) = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.75-0.98] and relationship functioning outcomes (marital discord, SMD = -0.40, 95% CI = -0.61, -0.18) at post-intervention. No beneficial intervention effects were identified at short-term follow-up (4-11 months post-treatment). The beneficial intervention effects identified at post-treatment remained when limiting to studies of alcohol use and therapist-delivered interventions.
conclusionsPsychosocial interventions delivered to affected others of people with addictions (problematic alcohol use, substance use, gambling or gaming) may be effective in improving some, but not all, affected other (depression, life satisfaction, coping), addicted person (treatment) and relationship functioning (marital discord) outcomes for affected others across the addictions, but the conclusion remains tentative due to limited studies and methodological limitations.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.