Social Identification as a Predictor of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Could Men’s Sheds Be a Potential “Social Cure” for Older Men?

Men’s Sheds offer promising sites for unique health promotion opportunities, and while prior work has identified potential mechanisms that may support wellbeing, these mechanisms are yet to be empirically clarified in the Men’s Shed context. This study investigated the relationships between engagement in Men’s Sheds, social identification, social connectedness, social support, and wellbeing outcomes in Men’s Shed members in Western Australia ( N = 168, M age = 72.0 years, SD = 8.9, 98.2% males). Path Analysis revealed significant serial indirect effects whereby engaging in a greater diversity of activities in Men’s Sheds was associated with improved wellbeing and lower depression via stronger social identification and greater social connections (but not social support), which in turn reduced loneliness. Higher social anxiety was also associated with weaker social identification and higher loneliness. Our results highlight the centrality of social identification for wellbeing outcomes and suggest that community organizations may benefit by directing future efforts toward strengthening social identification in groups and targeting social anxiety to support better mental health and wellbeing.