Social capital is emerging as an important component of mental well-being. Our aim was to assess the relationship between social capital and common mental disorders and to explore the role of social capital in the relationship between deprivation and common mental disorders.

This study used data collected from 7023 adults in England who completed the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (2007). Common mental disorders (CMD) were measured using CIS-R. Questions on both cognitive (CSC) and structural social capital were included, as well as data on area level deprivation.

We found a strong association between higher CSC and lower levels of CMD, depression and anxiety. Structural social capital was associated with lower levels of CMD and depression but was not conclusively associated with lower levels of anxiety. While there is a relationship between low social capital and deprivation, we found that higher CSC was still associated with lower CMD in participants living in deprived areas. Results for structural social capital were less conclusive although an association with lower overall CMD was still found in the most deprived communities.

In a nationally representative sample, higher social capital is associated with lower levels of CMD. There appears to be a relationship between low social capital and deprivation and this may have implications for the mental wellbeing of individuals living in deprived communities.