Social support in relation to mental well-being among the unemployed A factory closure study in Finland

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Abstract
The association between social support and mental well-being was studied in a Finnish factory closure study involving the entire personnel (n = 211) of Finnforest wood-processing factory 6 months after they had been made redundant. Mental well-being was measured by using a 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ score), a 13-item Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI score), and a 13-item questionnaire assessing psychosomatic symptoms (PS score). One hundred and sixty-eight persons (79%) returned the questionnaires. Thirty-three of these were excluded from the analysis because they had already found a new job. Sixteen per cent (n = 21) considered social support insufficient, and 84% (n = 114) considered it good or adequate. All instruments used indicated that those who considered social support insufficient experienced impaired mental well-being more often than the others. The association between insufficient social support and impaired mental well-being was not related to age or marital status. Insufficient social support and poor financial situation exacerbated already impaired well-being. A similar association was noted in people who were uncertain about their future, in those who assessed their health as poor, and in those who drank alcohol excessively. In the linear discriminant analysis, people who felt social support insufficient were most clearly differentiated from the rest in terms of BDI score, smoking, and PS score.