Men, women and friends — are there differences in relation to mental well-being?

This is a study on associations between the number of close friends and mental well-being in a nationwide sample of the Finnish general population (n = 1603). Mental well-being was assessed by means of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. A total of 3% of the sample had no close friends and another 3% had only one. Over half of the sample (52%) reported having five or more friends. The overall prevalence of mental distress was 15% in men and 21% in women. According to multivariate analyses the risk of mental distress was increased in men among those with no friends (odds ratio [OR]: 2.70) and among those who had one (OR: 4.32) or two to four friends (OR: 1.75), as compared with those who had more friends. In women, having only one friend (OR: 2.30), insufficient family support (OR: 1.63) and insufficient support from relatives (OR: 1.77) associated with the risk of mental distress. These results suggest that mental well-being might be promoted if mentally distressed men seeking professional help were supported in building up and maintaining social networks and mentally distressed women were supported in harmonizing their family life.