Mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being, and too many people in Scotland do not have the strong foundations needed for good mental health.
Good mental health and wellbeing are influenced by an interaction of social, economic, environmental, physical and individual factors, with some people and groups having poorer mental health than others.
The risks to our mental health are not distributed evenly across the population, and those experiencing social disadvantages face the most significant risk.
These health inequalities arise from unequal income, wealth, and power distribution and impact wider life chances and experiences.
To create a society where everybody can thrive, we must work together to ensure those strong foundations, or the right ‘building blocks’ of mental health, are in place.
These 'societal conditions', or 'social determinants' include:
Social and structural inequality in our communities can mean that those who face the most significant disadvantages in life also face the greatest risks to their mental health and wellbeing.