The association between participation in mental health protective behaviours and mental well-being: cross sectional survey among Western Australian adults

Background

Protecting mental health is a public health priority. Social marketing campaigns can encourage uptake of healthful behaviours. The Act Belong Commit® mental health promotion campaign encourages participation in mentally protective behaviours.

Objective

To examine the relationship between mentally protective behaviours and mental well-being among West Australian adults exposed to the Act Belong Commit® campaign.

Methods

Cross-sectional telephone interviews conducted in Western Australia September–October 2020 with 603 adults aged 18+ years. Campaign awareness and participation in 15 behaviours that contribute to social connectedness and meaningfulness were measured. Mental health outcomes were the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) and Kessler 6 (K6).

Results

Mean WEMWBS score was 52.6 (SD 8.9), 93 % reported no psychological distress (K6), and 86 % were aware of the campaign. People who chatted with others 1–6 times/week had WEMWBS score increased by 5.8 compared with those who did so less than weekly, while those who chatted daily had WEMWBS score increased by 10.0 points. Spending time in nature 1–6 times/week had 2.99 increased WEMWBS score, while daily had 5.08 higher score than less than weekly. WEMWBS score increased with meetups with friends, visiting family, physical activity, spirituality practice, thinking/concentrating activity, helping someone and large religious influence. Age and saving ability independently predicted well-being.

Conclusions

Participation in mental health protective behaviours were associated with higher mental well-being. These behaviours will be further promoted to increase the success of the Act Belong Commit®⁾ campaign. This study shows that the promotion of low-cost, evidence-based protective behaviours is important for population mental well-being.