Social support is demonstrated to have mixed effects on both pain and related physiological arousal. In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to characterise these effects. A total of 2416 studies were identified in a systematic search, among which 21 were eligible for the quantitative review. The mere presence of another person was not sufficient to modulate pain perception. However, the presence of a stranger was identified to decrease pain-related arousal (SMD = −0.31), and the presence of a significant other increased facial expression of pain (SMD = 0.21). We further found verbal support to decrease pain (SMD = −0.69) and arousal (SMD = −0.99), and we demonstrated moderate to large analgesic effects of intimate relationships through touching (SMD = −0.95) and viewing (SMD = −0.60) of a romantic partner. Finally, we presented evidence of publication bias for pain-related arousal but not for behavioural pain outcomes. Together, our findings suggest that the impact of social support on pain is context-dependent with the verbal communication of support and intimate relationships being of particular importance.

事实证明，社会支持对疼痛和相关的生理唤醒具有混合作用。在这项研究中，进行了荟萃分析以表征这些影响。通过系统检索，总共鉴定了2416项研究，其中21项符合定量审查条件。仅仅一个人的存在不足以调节疼痛感。但是，已发现陌生人的存在可以减少与疼痛有关的唤醒（SMD = -0.31），而其他明显的面部表情可以增加疼痛的表达（SMD = 0.21）。我们进一步发现口头支持可减轻疼痛（SMD = -0.69）和唤醒（SMD = -0.99），并且通过触摸（SMD = -0.95）和观察（SMD = -0.60）证明了亲密关系的中度到大型镇痛作用一个浪漫的伴侣。最后，我们提供了与疼痛相关的觉醒的出版物偏见的证据，而不是行为疼痛的预后的证据。总之，我们的发现表明，社会支持对疼痛的影响取决于具体情况，支持和亲密关系的口头交流尤为重要。