WIREDGOV

Group identification – in other words, one's subjective sense of belonging to a group and of commonality with other group members – could play a vital role in supporting mental health and wellbeing, according to research from the University of Dundee.

Findings suggest that the greater the number of social groups (eg family, local community or a leisure group) one identifies with, the lower the odds of being depressed and the greater the likelihood of feeling satisfied with life.

Using data from Scotland, researchers also found that identifying with more groups lowers the odds of smoking or drinking heavily and increases the odds of exercising and eating healthily.

"If confirmed by further studies, then our findings could support the idea of 'social prescriptions'," says Professor Fabio Sani. "So, for example, a health professional could present a depressed patient with a list of local social groups and encourage them to join one or more of the groups with which they could identify.

"This type of social prescription could be used in tandem with either medication or psychotherapy and prove especially useful for patients who do not want to take antidepressants or who find psychotherapy unhelpful."

Further information

• Health In Groups (project website)
• Professor Fabio Sani, University of Dundee
  Email: f.sani@dundee.ac.uk

This article was published in the Summer 2016 issue of the Society Now magazine.