ORIGINAL PAPER Workplace social capital, mental health and health behaviors among Brazilian female workers Marcos Pascoal Pattussi 1 • Maria Teresa Anselmo Olinto 1,2 • Raquel Canuto 3 • Anderson da Silva Garcez 1 • Vera Maria Vieira Paniz 1 • Ichiro Kawachi 4 Received: 5 November 2015 / Accepted: 26 April 2016 / Published online: 7 May 2016 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 Abstract Objective Previous studies have investigated the relation- ship between workplace social capital and mental health, yet few have sought to examine the mediating mechanisms. We sought to explore the role of workplace social capital on health related behaviors and on mental health among female employees in Brazil. Methods A cross-sectional study was undertaken with 553 women aged 28–50 years working in the production line of a poultry processing plant. We assessed workplace social capital, common mental disorders, stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and health related behaviors (physical activity, healthy eating habits and co-occurrence of risk behaviors). We used structural equation modeling to clarify relation- ships between exposures, outcomes, and mediating variables. Results Our model demonstrated a direct effect of social capital on the outcomes studied. Higher workplace social capital was associated with lower stress and common mental disorders as well as more favorable health-related behaviors. Our model also showed an indirect effect of social capital on mental health and on behaviors that was mediated by lower levels of perceived stress. Conclusion Workplace social cohesion may play an important role in the promotion of mental health and healthy behaviors among women employees. Keywords Social epidemiology Á Mental health Á Health behavior Á Psychosocial factors Á Social capital Introduction Social capital has been referred to as ‘‘features of social organizations, such as networks, norms and trust that facilitate action and cooperation for mutual benefit.’’ [1]. It can be understood as resources derived through social networks, and is believed to promote health through the exchange of instrumental assistance, social reinforcement, and the maintenance of healthy norms [2]. In recent years, a growing body of empirical evidence has accumulated on the potential relevance of social capital for health out- comes. These studies have been conducted mainly in res- idential or geographical settings, such as neighborhoods [3]. However, an emerging line of research has focused on the workplace as a context in which social capital may promote wellbeing and health [2]. The workplace consti- tutes a meaningful setting to study the subject because of several reasons. First, it is a clearly defined social context; second, people are spending increasing hours in their workplace; and third, it has, therefore, become an increasingly important setting for social interactions [4]. Both workers and employers could potentially benefit from workplace social capital if it can be leveraged to promote & Marcos Pascoal Pattussi mppattussi@unisinos.br 1 Programa de Po ´s-Graduac ¸a ˜o em Sau ´de Coletiva, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Av. Unisinos 950, Sa ˜o Leopoldo, RS 93022-000, Brazil 2 Departamento de Nutric ¸a ˜o, Universidade Federal de Cie ˆncias da Sau ´de, Rua Sarmento Leite 245, 90050-170 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil 3 Departamento de Nutric ¸a ˜o, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Faculdade de Medicina, Rua Ramiro Barcelos 2400, Rio Branco, Porto Alegre, RS 9003500, Brazil 4 Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Publich Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA 123 Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol (2016) 51:1321–1330 DOI 10.1007/s00127-016-1232-5 Author's personal copy