Interaction with other people is vital to human development. Social relationships and networks can act as protective factors against the onset or recurrence of mental illness and enhance recovery from mental disorders (WHO, 2005). Tables 6 and 7 provide information on the social networks that people have access to and the frequency of contact with their family and friends.



The prevalence of 12-month mental disorders was very similar for people who did and did not have contact with their family. Of the 15.9 million people who had contact with their family, one in five (20%) had a 12-month mental disorder. Of the 121,800 people who had no contact with their family or no family, just under a quarter (23%) had a 12-month mental disorder. However, the prevalence of 12-month mental disorders for people who did and did not have contact with their friends was quite different. Of the 15.7 million people who had contact with their friends, one in five (20%) had a 12-month mental disorder, but for the 352,500 who had no contact with friends or no friends, 38% had a 12-month mental disorder.



Of the people who had contact with their family, those who had family members to rely on or family members to confide in were less likely to have a 12-month mental disorder. One in three people with no family members to rely on (33%) or confide in (33%) had a 12-month mental disorder, compared with around one in six people with three or more family members to rely on (17%) or confide in (15%).



Of the people who had contact with their friends, those who had friends to rely on or friends to confide in were also less likely to have a 12-month mental disorder. Around a quarter (25% and 22% respectively) of the people with no friends to rely on or confide in had a 12-month mental disorder, compared with 18% each for the people with three or more friends to rely on or confide in.