Social Rhythm and Mental Health: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

BACKGROUND: Social rhythm refers to the regularity with which one engages in social activities throughout the week, and has established links with bipolar disorder, as well as some links with depression and anxiety. The aim of the present study is to examine social rhythm and its relationship to various aspects of health, including physical health, negative mental health, and positive mental health. METHOD: Questionnaire data were obtained from a large-scale multi-national sample of 8095 representative participants from the U.S., Russia, and Germany. RESULTS: Results indicated that social rhythm irregularity is related to increased reporting of health problems, depression, anxiety, and stress. In contrast, greater regularity is related to better overall health state, life satisfaction, and positive mental health. The effects are generally small in size, but hold even when controlling for gender, marital status, education, income, country, and social support. Further, social rhythm means differ across Russia, the U.S., and Germany. Relationships with mental health are present in all three countries, but differ in magnitude. CONCLUSIONS: Social rhythm irregularity is related to mental health in Russia, the U.S., and Germany.