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The purpose of this paper is to investigate positive mental health (PMH) and factors related to it among those living alone in the sparsely populated area of the Lapland region.

The study utilises data from the Mental Health Survey of the Lapland region in Finland, covering 12 municipalities. The scores of short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (sWEMWBS) were categorised into three levels of PMH. Logistic regression models were used to separately estimate the odds ratios for the high level of PMH compared with the moderate level of PMH and the low level of PMH compared with the moderate level.

Social support seemed to be very strongly associated with both low and high levels of PMH among people living alone. Participating in activities provided by organisations or societies decreased the odds of having low PMH. Among men, young age predicted low PMH.

The number of people living alone in Finland and other parts of Europe is increasing, yet there are few studies focusing on their positive mental health (PMH). Using scales such as sWEMWBS adds to the authors’ knowledge about the positive mental well-being of those living alone, especially in rural areas, thus making it possible to utilise mental health promotion interventions effectively and accordingly.

Suicide as a stigmatising issue presents a huge challenge for prevention policy. Also, policy itself is often difficult to turn into action. This research describes the interpretative repertoires found in the suicide prevention strategies of England and Finland, and explores their potential functions and audiences. It was found that the political repertoire was formed from four sub‐repertoires: the public health epidemiology, the everyday, the preventive action and the reflective repertoires. This paper discusses the polyphonic and multilayered nature of these policy documents and how different repertoires may be used for various functions. The polyphonic nature of policy documents is necessary to reach a wide readership and to capture suicide as a controversial phenomenon. However, the downside is that the argumentative style may also undermine some of the measures and actions recommended.