Social capital and mental health: An updated interdisciplinary review of primary evidence

Social capital is a compound and complex construct, an umbrella term under which social cohesion, social support, social integration and/or participation are often lumped together. Beyond its growing appeal to policy makers, practitioners and researchers in public health in general and mental health in particular, social capital is now also an integral part of broad-based discussions on social-ecological resilience, ecosystem sustainability, and the collective management of natural resources (see for instance, Adger et al., 2005; Hardin, 1968; Pretty, 2003). This chapter revisits and updates the analysis presented in an earlier interdisciplinary review of primary evidence linking social capital and mental health (Almedom, 2005).