Social connectedness is important for optimal health and overall wellbeing and longevity. Conversely, limited social connectedness is associated with a variety of poorer mental and physical health outcomes and risk behaviours including depression, substance use, sleep problems and cardiovascular disease.
Limited social connectedness is more common among Australian males compared to females. Understanding how men develop and maintain social connectivity and community participation is important for optimising their health and wellbeing, and for informing targeted interventions to promote and enhance social connectedness among Australian men.
The research presented in this report describes social connectedness among adult Australian males. Across five empirical chapters, subjective and objective indicators of self-perceived social support, attachment relationships and community integration are investigated, associated health and wellbeing outcomes are examined, and factors associated with greater levels of social connectedness are identified. Data were from surveys with adult participants for the first two waves (2013/14 and 2015/16) of Ten to Men: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health (TTM). At Wave 1, 13,896 adult men were surveyed; at Wave 2 there were 10,729 adult participants.
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