Social Capital: Relationship between Social Capital and Teacher Job Satisfaction within a Learning Organization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chazon, Timothy Lee

2009-01-01

This dissertation was designed to study the relationship between Social Capital and teacher Job Satisfaction for 11 selected North Carolina Middle Schools. This study uses the learning organizational theory and social capital theory as theoretical constructs for studying the complex relationships between school as a Learning Organization (LO),…

Social capital and health--implications for health promotion.

PubMed

Eriksson, Malin

2011-02-08

This article is a review of the PhD Thesis of Malin Eriksson, entitled 'Social capital, health and community action - implications for health promotion.' The article presents a theoretical overview of social capital and its relation to health, reviews empirical findings of the links between social capital and (self-rated) health, and discusses the usefulness of social capital in health promotion interventions at individual and community levels. Social capital, conceptualized as an individual characteristic, can contribute to the field of health promotion by adding new knowledge on how social network interventions may best be designed to meet the needs of the target group. The distinction of different forms of social capital, i.e. bonding, bridging, and linking, can be useful in mapping the kinds of networks that are available and health-enhancing (or damaging) and for whom. Further, social capital can advance social network interventions by acknowledging the risk for unequal distribution of investments and returns from social network involvement. Social capital, conceptualized as characterizing whole communities, provides a useful framework for what constitutes health-supporting environments and guidance on how to achieve them. Mapping and mobilization of social capital in local communities may be one way of achieving community action for health promotion. Social capital is context-bound by necessity. Thus, from a global perspective, it cannot be used as a 'cookbook' on how to achieve supportive environments and community action smoothly. However, social capital can provide new ideas on the processes that influence human interactions, cooperation, and community action for health promotion in various contexts. © 2011 Malin Eriksson.

Social Capital in the Classroom: A Study of In-Class Social Capital and School Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Rossem, Ronan; Vermande, Marjolijn; Völker, Beate; Baerveldt, Chris

2015-01-01

Social capital is generally considered beneficial for students' school adjustment. This paper argues that social relationships among pupils generate social capital at both the individual and the class levels, and that each has its unique effect on pupils' performance and well-being. The sample in this study consists of 1036 children in 60…

Intergenerational Learning and Social Capital. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerka, Sandra

The concept of social capital refers to the resources of networks, norms or shared values, and trust to which individuals have access as community members. A reason to consider intergenerational learning in the context of social capital is awareness of unequal access to positive social capital and the risk that social exclusion and disadvantage…

Social Capital or Social Cohesion: What Matters for Subjective Well-Being?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Carlo

2013-01-01

The theoretical analysis of the concepts of social capital and of social cohesion shows that social capital should be considered as a micro concept whereas social cohesion, being a broader concept than social capital, is a more appropriate concept for macro analysis. Therefore, we suggest that data on the individual level should only be used to…

Social Capital Theory: Implications for Women's Networking and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alfred, Mary V.

2009-01-01

This chapter describes social capital theory as a framework for exploring women's networking and social capital resources. It presents the foundational assumptions of the theory, the benefits and risks of social capital engagement, a feminist critique of social capital, and the role of social capital in adult learning.

The M-C-M' cycle and social capital.

PubMed

Hean, Sarah; Cowley, Sarah; Forbes, Angus; Griffiths, Peter; Maben, Jill

2003-03-01

Social capital has become a popular term over the past two decades amongst researchers, policy makers and practitioners from varied disciplines. This popularity, however, has resulted in a great deal of confusion over the nature and application of social capital in different contexts. This confusion has made it difficult to identify and measure social capital within the evaluation of specific social and health programmes, one of the aims of which may be to stimulate social capital. This paper identifies a theoretical model that seeks to capture the dynamic nature of social capital to assist in the development of research methods that will facilitate its measurement and exploration within such programmes. The model reported in the paper identifies the key components of social capital and expresses the relationship between those components in a dynamic system based on Marx's description of the process of capital (economic) exchanges expressed in the M-C-M' cycle. The M-C-M' cycle is the transformation of money (M) into commodities (C), and the change of commodities back again into money (M') of altered value. The emphasis within the paper is on the capital element of the concept and its transactional nature with the aim of avoiding the pitfall of attributing social capital in relation to social behaviours in isolation of context and interaction. Importantly, the paper seeks to distinguish the central elements of social capital from some of the antecedent factors and outcomes often attributed to and confused with social capital adding to the problem of providing valid measurement. The model is presented as the basis for the measurement of social capital within a transactional process involving the investment of social resources in a cyclical process, which may result in net gains or losses. This process is described as the R-C-R' cycle following Marx's model of economic capital, with the focus being on the transfer of social resources (R) rather than money (M). R

Gendered Social Capital in a Johannesburg Township

PubMed Central

Myroniuk, Tyler W.

2016-01-01

Social capital research rarely takes a gendered approach. This article explores how black women and men from a marginalized community in Johannesburg, South Africa, rely on family, friends, and community members to survive and strategize for the future by utilizing social capital. The results from 30 semi-structured interviews and ego network mapping illustrate that gender moderates the type of social capital used and benefits associated with bonding and bridging social capital in important ways. This research builds upon knowledge of gendered advantages and disadvantages in social networks and informs researchers how women and men survive in pervasive poverty. I posit that identifying potential sources of support is an important consideration within social capital or any network research because the prospect of receiving assistance in the future undoubtedly alters the development of these individuals’ livelihood strategies. PMID:27773948

Social capital and mental illness: a systematic review

PubMed Central

De Silva, M. J; McKenzie, K.; Harpham, T.; Huttly, S.

2005-01-01

Study objective: The concept of social capital has influenced mental health policies of nations and international organisations despite its limited evidence base. This papers aims to systematically review quantitative studies examining the association between social capital and mental illness. Design and setting: Twenty electronic databases and the reference sections of papers were searched to identify published studies. Authors of papers were contacted for unpublished work. Anonymised papers were reviewed by the authors of this paper. Papers with a validated mental illness outcome and an exposure variable agreed as measuring social capital were included. No limitations were put on date or language of publication. Main results: Twenty one studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. Fourteen measured social capital at the individual level and seven at an ecological level. The former offered evidence for an inverse relation between cognitive social capital and common mental disorders. There was moderate evidence for an inverse relation between cognitive social capital and child mental illness, and combined measures of social capital and common mental disorders. The seven ecological studies were diverse in methodology, populations investigated, and mental illness outcomes, making them difficult to summarise. Conclusions: Individual and ecological social capital may measure different aspects of the social environment. Current evidence is inadequate to inform the development of specific social capital interventions to combat mental illness. PMID:16020636

Social capital and social exclusion in England and Wales (1972-1999).

PubMed

Li, Yaojun

2003-12-01

Recent research on social capital has explored trends in membership in voluntary organizations. However, there is currently little robust evidence on such trends in the UK since the 1970s, nor is there any analysis of whether participation bridges social divisions or accentuates them. This paper explores trends in participation in England and Wales since 1972 using data from the Social Mobility Inquiry of 1972 and the British Household Panel Survey of 1992 and 1999. We are concerned with social exclusion mechanisms in social capital generation in Britain over the three decades. Using binomial and multinomial models to 'unpack' the effects of socio-cultural factors on civic participation and on different types of associational membership, we test the thesis of across-the-board decline in social capital by Putnam (2000) and that of rising levels of middle-class social capital versus consistent low levels of working-class social capital by Hall (1999). The results show significant socio-cultural-gender differences, a relative stability of middle-class participation, and a rapid decline in the working-class access to social capital. We challenge the established accounts of both theses.

Measuring Social Capital Accumulation in Rural Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teilmann, Kasper

2012-01-01

Using a theoretical framework, the study proposes an index that can measure the social capital of local action group (LAG) projects. The index is founded on four indicators: number of ties, bridging social capital, recognition, and diversity, which are aggregated into one social capital index. The index has been tested in LAG-Djursland, Denmark,…

Schools, Social Capital and Space

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allan, Julie; Catts, Ralph

2014-01-01

This paper reports on the significance of social capital in relation to education, exploring its relevance to teachers and other professionals as well as among young people. It draws on aspects of five case studies undertaken by the Schools and Social Capital Network, within the Applied Educational Research Scheme in Scotland. These case studies…

Transformative Pedagogy for Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willis, Peter

2007-01-01

This paper explores ways in which pedagogy for an elaborated form of transformative learning can be a useful catalyst for the development of social capital in community and workplace groups and networks. I begin with an example and then explore ideas of learning challenges embedded in building and maintaining social capital. I consider the…

Indicators of Youth Social Capital: The Case for Not Using Adult Indicators in the Measurement of Youth Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Billett, Paulina

2012-01-01

Social capital is a difficult concept to define, and the task of defining the social capital of youth is even more complicated. The concept has not only been poorly researched but is also imperfectly understood. This article examines the problems faced in the use of adult indicators in youth social capital research and explores current…

Negative Bystander Behavior in Bullying Dynamics: Assessing the Impact of Social Capital Deprivation and Anti-social Capital.

PubMed

Evans, Caroline B R; Smokowski, Paul R

2017-02-01

Bystanders witness bullying, but are not directly involved as a bully or victim; however, they often engage in negative bystander behavior. This study examines how social capital deprivation and anti-social capital are associated with the likelihood of engaging in negative bystander behavior in a sample (N = 5752) of racially/ethnically diverse rural youth. Data were collected using an online, youth self-report; the current study uses cross sectional data. Following multiple imputation, a binary logistic regression with robust standard errors was run. Results partially supported the hypothesis and indicated that social capital deprivation in the form of peer pressure and verbal victimization and anti-social capital in the form of delinquent friends, bullying perpetration, verbal perpetration, and physical perpetration were significantly associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in negative bystander behavior. Findings highlight the importance of establishing sources of positive social support for disenfranchised youth.

Getting the Goods on Social Capital.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, Ellen; Ferrazzi, Gabriele; Schryer, Frans

1998-01-01

Overview of the origins, development, rapid diffusion, and current usage of the concept of social capital in the literature. Focuses on three approaches to operationalizing the concept: those of James Coleman, Pierre Bourdieu, and Robert Putnam. Discusses social capital as a resource, as goal-oriented, and as a contributor to social control and…

Social capital and health – implications for health promotion

PubMed Central

Eriksson, Malin

2011-01-01

This article is a review of the PhD Thesis of Malin Eriksson, entitled ‘Social capital, health and community action – implications for health promotion.’ The article presents a theoretical overview of social capital and its relation to health, reviews empirical findings of the links between social capital and (self-rated) health, and discusses the usefulness of social capital in health promotion interventions at individual and community levels. Social capital, conceptualized as an individual characteristic, can contribute to the field of health promotion by adding new knowledge on how social network interventions may best be designed to meet the needs of the target group. The distinction of different forms of social capital, i.e. bonding, bridging, and linking, can be useful in mapping the kinds of networks that are available and health-enhancing (or damaging) and for whom. Further, social capital can advance social network interventions by acknowledging the risk for unequal distribution of investments and returns from social network involvement. Social capital, conceptualized as characterizing whole communities, provides a useful framework for what constitutes health-supporting environments and guidance on how to achieve them. Mapping and mobilization of social capital in local communities may be one way of achieving community action for health promotion. Social capital is context-bound by necessity. Thus, from a global perspective, it cannot be used as a ‘cookbook’ on how to achieve supportive environments and community action smoothly. However, social capital can provide new ideas on the processes that influence human interactions, cooperation, and community action for health promotion in various contexts. PMID:21311607

Social capital, social support, and food insecurity in food pantry users.

PubMed

Chhabra, Surbhi; Falciglia, Grace A; Lee, Seung-Yeon

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between food security, social capital, and social support among urban food pantry users in Cincinnati. In-person interviews with 53 participants were completed using the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module, Social Capital questionnaire, and Social Support questionnaire. Social capital was assessed through four subscales using a Likert scale, with a response range 1 to 4, and social support was measured by rating significant others' emotional, informational, and instrumental support as well as companionship (ranged from 0 to 4). The findings suggested that there were no significant associations among them. This may be due to a small sample size. Thus, the associations need to be examined with a larger sample. Further, a qualitative approach may be necessary to explore the contextual nature of social capital and social support related to food security.

Social capital and healthy ageing in Indonesia.

PubMed

Cao, Junran; Rammohan, Anu

2016-07-22

A large international literature has found a positive association between social capital and measures of physical and mental health. However, there is a paucity of research on the links between social capital and healthy ageing in a developing country environment, where universal social security coverage is absent and health infrastructure is poor. In this paper, we develop and empirically test a model of the linkages between social capital and the health outcomes for older adults in Indonesia, using data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey-East (IFLS-East), conducted in 2012. Using multivariate regression analysis, we examine whether social capital plays a role in mitigating poor health among older individuals aged 50 years and above in Indonesia's most vulnerable provinces. We test the robustness of these social capital variables across different health measures (self-assessed health, Activities of Daily Living (ADL), measures of chronic illness and mental health measures), as well as across different demographic groups, after controlling for an array of socio-economic, demographic and geographic characteristics. Our findings show that access to better social capital (using measures of neighbourhood trust and community participation) is associated with a higher degree of physical mobility, independence, and mental well-being among older individuals but has no influence on chronic illnesses. These results are consistent when we estimate samples disaggregated by gender, rural/urban residence, and by age categories. From a policy perspective these results point to the importance of social capital measures in moderating the influence of poor health, particularly in the Activities of Daily Living.

Violence and social capital in post-conflict Guatemala.

PubMed

Dinesen, Cecilie; Ronsbo, Henrik; Juárez, Carla; González, Mariano; Estrada Méndez, Miguel Ángel; Modvig, Jens

2013-09-01

Violence in post-conflict Guatemala has serious public health consequences for the population. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between violence and social capital. Data from a cross-sectional victimization survey conducted in 2008 - 2010 in Guatemala were analyzed. Two-stage proportionate sampling was used in the survey. Households (n = 1 300) were randomly sampled within a random sample of communities (n = 118) in five administrative departments. The survey collected information on the six-month violence exposure of 6 335 individuals. Social capital was measured at the household level using the short version of the Adapted Social Capital Tool (SASCAT). The odds ratio for household violence exposure was estimated using multiple logistic regression. Community-level data from the latest national census were included as explanatory factors at the community level. Income, ethnicity, and social capital were included at the household level. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0. In total, 2.7% of individuals and 11.7% of households had been exposed to violence within the past six months. The multivariate analysis showed that 1) structural social capital (in this case, the level of participation in social networks and civil society) was a risk factor for violence and 2) cognitive social capital (measured as trust, norms, and sense of belonging) was a protective factor for violence. The opposite direction of the association between violence and structural and cognitive social capital challenges the use of social capital as a unified concept. If this finding is corroborated by other studies, structural and cognitive social capital will have to be treated as two distinctly different concepts.

Cultural capital and social inequality in health.

PubMed

Abel, T

2008-07-01

Economic and social resources are known to contribute to the unequal distribution of health outcomes. Culture-related factors such as normative beliefs, knowledge and behaviours have also been shown to be associated with health status. The role and function of cultural resources in the unequal distribution of health is addressed. Drawing on the work of French Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, the concept of cultural capital for its contribution to the current understanding of social inequalities in health is explored. It is suggested that class related cultural resources interact with economic and social capital in the social structuring of people's health chances and choices. It is concluded that cultural capital is a key element in the behavioural transformation of social inequality into health inequality. New directions for empirical research on the interplay between economic, social and cultural capital are outlined.

Workplace social capital in nursing: an evolutionary concept analysis.

PubMed

Read, Emily A

2014-05-01

To report an analysis of the concept of nurses' workplace social capital. Workplace social capital is an emerging concept in nursing with potential to illuminate the value of social relationships at work. A common definition is needed. Concept analysis. The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed, PsychINFO and ProQuest Nursing. Databases were systematically searched using the keywords: workplace social capital, employee social capital, work environment, social capital and nursing. Sources published between January 1937-November 2012 in English that described or studied social capital of nurses at work were included. A total of 668 resources were found. After removing 241 duplicates, literature was screened in two phases: (1) titles and abstracts were reviewed (n = 427); and (2) remaining data sources were retrieved and read (n = 70). Eight sources were included in the final analysis. Attributes of nurses' workplace social capital included networks of social relationships at work, shared assets and shared ways of knowing and being. Antecedents were communication, trust and positive leadership practices. Nurses' workplace social capital was associated with positive consequences for nurses, their patients and healthcare organizations. Nurses' workplace social capital is defined as nurses' shared assets and ways of being and knowing that are evident in, and available through, nurses' networks of social relationships at work. Future studies should examine and test relationships between antecedents and consequences of nurses' workplace social capital to understand this important aspect of healthy professional practice environments better. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The association between team-level social capital and individual-level work engagement: Differences between subtypes of social capital and the impact of intra-team agreement.

PubMed

Meng, Annette; Clausen, Thomas; Borg, Vilhelm

2018-04-01

The study explored the association between team-level social capital and individual-level work engagement. Questionnaire data were collected from six companies in the dairy industry. Seven hundred seventy-two participants divided into 65 teams were included. In confirmatory factor analyses, we found a superior model fit to a four dimensional model of social capital: bonding social capital, bridging social capital and two types of linking social capital. The results showed a positive association between all subtypes of social capital at the team level and work engagement at the individual level. However, this association only remained significant for linking social capital in relation the workplace as a whole when we adjusted for psychosocial working conditions. The level of intra-team agreement in social capital score did not moderate the association between social capital and work engagement. In conclusion, the results provide further support for previous findings suggesting a positive association between social capital and work engagement. They add to the existing knowledge by suggesting that linking social capital in relation to the workplace is the most important explanatory variable for work engagement, thus emphasizing the need to distinguish between subtypes of social capital in research and practice. © 2018 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology published by Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Social Capital as Exchange: Its Contribution to Morale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheung, Chau-kiu; Chan, Raymond Kwok-hong

2010-01-01

A way to clarify the measurement of social capital is the differentiation of its bases on opportunity and exchange. Social capital based on opportunity incorporates organizational participation, network strength, trust, helping and continuing relationships, whereas social capital based on exchange consists of the investment and reciprocation of…

Social Capital and Economic Integration of Migrants in Urban China*

PubMed Central

Lu, Yao; Ruan, Danching; Lai, Gina

2013-01-01

Based on data from a 2005 survey conducted in Shanghai, China, this research examines the role of social capital in income inequality between rural migrants and urbanites. We find strong income return on social capital, in particular on social capital from strong ties. We also observe a great disparity in social capital possession between rural migrants and urban local residents. Although social capital from strong ties seems to be more important for rural migrants than for urbanites, local ties and high-status ties do not seem to benefit rural migrants. Hence, migrants not only suffer severe social capital deficits but also capital return deficits. Given the strong income returns on social capital and the substantial differences in access to and return on social capital between migrants and urban residents, social capital is consequently found to explain a large part of the income inequality between the two groups. Overall, our findings reveal macro-structural effects on the role of social capital in labor market stratification. In China, the lack of formal labor market mechanisms continues to create both a strong need for and opportunities for economic actions to be organized around informal channels via social relations. Yet, the long-standing institutional exclusion of migrants caused by the household registration system has resulted in pervasive social exclusion and discrimination which have substantially limited rural migrants’ accumulation and mobilization of social capital. Under these conditions, social capital reinforces the economic inequality between migrants and urban residents in China. Such empirical evidence adds to our understanding of the role of social capital in the economic integration of migrants and in shaping intergroup inequality in general. PMID:24376290

Social Capital and Educational Achievements: Coleman vs. Bourdieu

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogošic, Silvia; Baranovic, Branislava

2016-01-01

The influence of social capital on an individual's educational achievements is the subject of numerous scientific papers. Research on social capital is most frequently based on Coleman's (1988) or Bourdieu's (1986) theories of capital, which are related to different paradigms of social theory: whereas Coleman's approach has its roots in structural…

Social capital and health: measuring and understanding social capital at a local level could help to tackle health inequalities more effectively.

PubMed

Pilkington, Paul

2002-09-01

This paper examines whether an understanding of the concept of social capital and its local measurement can help to tackle inequalities in health within and across communities. The paper concludes that the concept of social capital offers a valuable opportunity to help public health professionals understand how to approach inequalities in health with a greater awareness of the social processes affecting the health of communities. The measurement of social capital has been problematic. However, new guidance from the Health Development Agency (HDA) provides a useful tool for developing social capital research. A greater understanding of whether, and how social capital relates to health will help to improve strategies to reduce health inequalities at the community level. Public health professionals contributing to community development strategies such as Neighbourhood Renewal Projects, Community Safety Partnerships, Health Action Zones and Health Improvement Programmes (HImPs) should encourage thought to be given about the role that an understanding of social capital could play in making these strategies more effective. Using the HDA measurement tool locally could be one way of doing this.

Social capital: theory, evidence, and implications for oral health.

PubMed

Rouxel, Patrick L; Heilmann, Anja; Aida, Jun; Tsakos, Georgios; Watt, Richard G

2015-04-01

In the last two decades, there has been increasing application of the concept of social capital in various fields of public health, including oral health. However, social capital is a contested concept with debates on its definition, measurement, and application. This study provides an overview of the concept of social capital, highlights the various pathways linking social capital to health, and discusses the potential implication of this concept for health policy. An extensive and diverse international literature has examined the relationship between social capital and a range of general health outcomes across the life course. A more limited but expanding literature has also demonstrated the potential influence of social capital on oral health. Much of the evidence in relation to oral health is limited by methodological shortcomings mainly related to the measurement of social capital, cross-sectional study designs, and inadequate controls for confounding factors. Further research using stronger methodological designs should explore the role of social capital in oral health and assess its potential application in the development of oral health improvement interventions. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effects of Social Capital on General Health Status

PubMed Central

Yamaguchi, Ayano

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the concept of social capital as a potential factor in understanding the controversial relationship between income inequality and individual health status, arguing a positive, important role for social capital. Most of the health research literature focuses on individual health status and reveals that social capital increases individual health. However, the difficulty in measuring social capital, together with what may be the nearly impossible task of attributing causality, should relegate the concept to a more theoretical role in health research. Nonetheless, social capital receives academic attention as a potentially important factor in health research. This paper finds that the mixed results of empirical research on income inequality and health status remain a problem in the context of defining a stable relationship between socioeconomic status and health status. Clearly, further research is needed to elaborate on the income inequality and health relationship. In addition, focused, rigorous examination of social capital in a health context is needed before health researchers can comfortably introduce it as a concept of influence or significance. PMID:24762345

Psychological Capital, Career Identity and Graduate Employability in Uganda: The Mediating Role of Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngoma, Muhammad; Dithan Ntale, Peter

2016-01-01

This paper seeks to evaluate the relationship between psychological capital, career identity, social capital and graduate employability. We also seek to evaluate the mediating role of social capital on the relationships between psychological capital, career identity and graduate employability in Uganda. A population of 480 unemployed young people…

Social capital and vulnerable urban youth in five global cities.

PubMed

Marshall, Beth Dail; Astone, Nan; Blum, Robert W; Jejeebhoy, Shireen; Delany-Moretlwe, Sinead; Brahmbhatt, Heena; Olumide, Adesola; Wang, Ziliang

2014-12-01

Social capital is essential for the successful development of young people. The current study examines direct measures of social capital in young people in five urban global contexts. The Well-Being of Adolescents in Vulnerable Environments is a global study of young people aged 15-19 years living in disadvantaged, urban settings. Respondent-driven sampling was used to recruit approximately 500 participants from each site. The sample included 2,339 young people (mean age 16.7 years; 47.5% female). We examined the associations between social capital in four domains-family, school, peers, and neighborhood and demographic characteristics-using gender-stratified ordinary least-squares regression. We also examined associations between self-reported health and the four social capital domains, which was minimal. School enrollment was positively associated with social capital for young women in Baltimore, Delhi, and Shanghai; the association was less consistent for young men. The same pattern is true for perceived wealth. Unstable housing was associated with low familial social capital in all groups except young women in Shanghai and young men in Ibadan and Johannesburg. Being raised outside a two-parent family has a widespread, negative association with social capital. Self-reported health had a mainly positive association with social capital with the most consistent association being neighborhood social capital. Different types of social capital interact with social contexts and gender differently. Strategies that aim to build social capital as part of risk reduction and positive youth development programming need to recognize that social capital enhancement may work differently for different groups and in different settings. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social Capital and Vulnerable Urban Youth in Five Global Cities

PubMed Central

Marshall, Beth Dail; Astone, Nan; Blum, Robert; Jejeebhoy, Shireen; Delany-Moretlwe, Sinead; Brahmbhatt, Heena; Olumide, Adesola; Wang, Ziliang

2015-01-01

Background Social capital is essential for the successful development of young people. The current study examines direct measures of social capital in young people in five urban global contexts. Methods The Well Being of Adolescents in Vulnerable Environments (WAVE) is a global study of young people aged 15 to 19 years living in disadvantaged, urban settings. Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) was used to recruit approximately 500 participants from each site. The sample included 2339 young people (mean age 16.7 years; 47.5% female). We examined the associations between social capital in four domains -family, school, peers and neighborhood -and demographic characteristics using gender stratified Ordinary Least Squares regression. We also examined associations between self-reported health and the four social capital domains is minimal. School enrollment was positively associated with social capital for young women in Baltimore, Delhi, and Shanghai: the association was less consistent for young men. The same pattern is true for perceived wealth. Unstable housing was associated with low familial social capital in all groups except young women in Shanghai and young men in Ibadan and Johannesburg. Being raised outside a two-parent family has a widespread, negative association with social capital. Self-reported health had a mainly positive association with social capital with the most consistent association being neighborhood social capital, Conclusions Different types of social capital interact with social contexts and gender differently. Strategies that aim to build social capital as part of risk reduction and positive youth development programming need to recognize that social capital enhancement may work differently for different groups and in different settings. PMID:25453999

Social and Subcultural Capital among Teenagers in Northern Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leonard, Madeleine

2008-01-01

This article makes a case for the inclusion of subcultural capital as an indicator of social capital networks in the lives of teenagers. It does so by critiquing approaches that assume that adult measures of social capital can be non-problematically extended to account for stocks of social capital held by younger generations. To illustrate the…

Roles of Smartphone App Use in Improving Social Capital and Reducing Social Isolation.

PubMed

Cho, Jaehee

2015-06-01

This study investigated the relationships among smartphone app use, social capital, and social isolation. It focused on two different smartphone apps--communication and social networking site (SNS) apps--and their effects on bonding and bridging social capital. Generational differences in smartphone use were also considered. Results from hierarchical regression analyses indicated that individuals' use of communication apps was helpful for increasing social capital and that this effect of using communication apps was stronger among those of the millennial generation than among older users. Moreover, bonding and bridging social capital was found to reduce individuals' social isolation significantly. These results imply the notable role of smartphone apps in reducing social isolation and improving the personal lives of individuals.

Youth Sport Volunteering: Developing Social Capital?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kay, Tess; Bradbury, Steven

2009-01-01

This paper analyses the capacity of youth sport volunteering to contribute to the development of social capital. Following a review of the emergence of social capital as a key theme in UK sport policy, the paper focuses on the ability of a structured sports volunteering programme to equip young people with skills for effective volunteering, and…

SOCIAL CAPITAL AND HEALTH CARE ACCESS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

PubMed Central

Derose, Kathryn Pitkin; Varda, Danielle M.

2017-01-01

A growing interest in community-level characteristics such as social capital and their relationship to healthcare access is evident. To assess the rigor with which this construct has been empirically applied in research on healthcare access, we conducted a systematic review. A total of 2396 abstracts were reviewed, with 21 ultimately meeting our criteria of examining some measure of social capital and its effects on healthcare access. Our review found a lack of congruence in how social capital was measured and interpreted and a general inconsistency in findings, which made it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the effects of social capital on healthcare access. Insights from the social network literature can help improve the conceptual and measurement problems. We recommend that future work distinguish between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital and their sources and benefits, and that perhaps three dimensions of social capital actually exist –cognitive, behavioral, and structural. PMID:19174538

Social Capital and Health Inequality: Evidence from Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, Lijun; Lin, Nan

2009-01-01

Does social capital, resources embedded in social relationships, influence health? This research examines whether social capital impacts depressive symptoms and overall perceived health status over and above the effects of social support. Our analyses use unique data from the Taiwan Social Change Survey collected in 1997, and measures social…

Social Capital and International Migration from Latin America

PubMed Central

Massey, Douglas S.; Aysa-Lastra, María

2011-01-01

We combine data from the Latin American Migration Project and the Mexican Migration Project to estimate models predicting the likelihood of taking of first and later trips to the United States from five nations: Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Peru. The models test specific hypotheses about the effects of social capital on international migration and how these effects vary with respect to contextual factors. Our findings confirm the ubiquity of migrant networks and the universality of social capital effects throughout Latin America. They also reveal how the sizes of these effects are not uniform across settings. Social capital operates more powerfully on first as opposed to later trips and interacts with the cost of migration. In addition, effects are somewhat different when considering individual social capital (measuring strong ties) and community social capital (measuring weak ties). On first trips, the effect of strong ties in promoting migration increases with distance whereas the effect of weak ties decreases with distance. On later trips, the direction of effects for both individual and community social capital is negative for long distances but positive for short distances. PMID:21915379

A sign of the times: To have or to be? Social capital or social cohesion?

PubMed

Carrasco, Maria A; Bilal, Usama

2016-06-01

Among various social factors associated with health behavior and disease, social cohesion has not captured the imagination of public health researchers as much as social capital as evidenced by the subsuming of social cohesion into social capital and the numerous studies analyzing social capital and the comparatively fewer articles analyzing social cohesion and health. In this paper we provide a brief overview of the evolution of the conceptualization of social capital and social cohesion and we use philosopher Erich Fromm's distinction between "having" and "being" to understand the current research focus on capital over cohesion. We argue that social capital is related to having while social cohesion is related to being and that an emphasis on social capital leads to individualizing tendencies that are antithetical to cohesion. We provide examples drawn from the literature where this conflation of social capital and cohesion results in non-concordant definitions and subsequent operationalization of these constructs. Beyond semantics, the practical implication of focusing on "having" vs. "being" include an emphasis on understanding how to normalize groups and populations rather than providing those groups space for empowerment and agency leading to health. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Social capital and common mental disorder: a systematic review.

PubMed

Ehsan, Annahita M; De Silva, Mary J

2015-10-01

This study aims to systematically review all published quantitative studies examining the direct association between social capital and common mental disorders (CMD). Social capital has potential value for the promotion and prevention of CMD. The association between different types of social capital (individual cognitive and structural, and ecological cognitive and structural) and CMD must be explored to obtain conclusive evidence regarding the association, and to ascertain a direction of causality. 10 electronic databases were searched to find studies examining the association between social capital and CMD published before July 2014. The effect estimates and sample sizes for each type of social capital were separately analysed for cross-sectional and cohort studies. From 1857 studies retrieved, 39 were selected for inclusion: 31 cross-sectional and 8 cohort studies. 39 effect estimates were found for individual level cognitive, 31 for individual level structural, 9 for ecological level cognitive and 11 for ecological level structural social capital. This review provides evidence that individual cognitive social capital is protective against developing CMD. Ecological cognitive social capital is also associated with reduced risk of CMD, though the included studies were cross-sectional. For structural social capital there was overall no association at either the individual or ecological levels. Two cross-sectional studies found that in low-income settings, a mother's participation in civic activities is associated with an increased risk of CMD. There is now sufficient evidence to design and evaluate individual and ecological cognitive social capital interventions to promote mental well-being and prevent CMD. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Effects of Social Capital on Academic Success: A Narrative Synthesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acar, Erkan

2011-01-01

Many researchers link social capital theory to education and commonly use examples from the field of education to examine social capital theory. Accordingly, they accept that reflections and contributions of social capital can be observed in the field of education. This paper examines social capital's effects on academic success in education. In…

Social capital calculations in economic systems: Experimental study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chepurov, E. G.; Berg, D. B.; Zvereva, O. M.; Nazarova, Yu. Yu.; Chekmarev, I. V.

2017-11-01

The paper describes the social capital study for a system where actors are engaged in an economic activity. The focus is on the analysis of communications structural parameters (transactions) between the actors. Comparison between transaction network graph structure and the structure of a random Bernoulli graph of the same dimension and density allows revealing specific structural features of the economic system under study. Structural analysis is based on SNA-methodology (SNA - Social Network Analysis). It is shown that structural parameter values of the graph formed by agent relationship links may well characterize different aspects of the social capital structure. The research advocates that it is useful to distinguish the difference between each agent social capital and the whole system social capital.

Development of the Social Capital Questionnaire in Greece.

PubMed

Kritsotakis, George; Koutis, Antonis D; Alegakis, Athanassios K; Philalithis, Anastas E

2008-06-01

The Greek version of the social capital questionnaire (SCQ-G) was evaluated in a sample of 521 adults drawn from three different urban areas in Greece. Exploratory factor analysis followed by multi-trait scaling yielded six factors: Participation in the Community, Feelings of Safety, Family/Friends Connections, Value of Life and Social Agency, Tolerance of Diversity, and Work Connections. The factor solution is similar to the patterns identified originally in Australia and the US. Variations suggest that social capital does not share the same structure in different countries. The SCQ-G is a useful scale to measure individual-level social capital in Greece. Social capital measurement tools should be validated in each cultural or national setting in which they are used.

Indicators of Social Capital: Social Capital as the Product of Local Interactive Learning Processes. CRLRA Discussion Paper Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Falk, Ian; Harrison, Lesley

A case study in a rural Australian township attempted to determine indicators verifying the existence of social capital. Social capital is provisionally defined as the networks, norms, and trust that constitute the capacity of individuals, workplaces, groups, organizations, and communities to strive for sustainable futures in a changing…

What determines social capital in a social-ecological system? Insights from a network perspective.

PubMed

Barnes-Mauthe, Michele; Gray, Steven Allen; Arita, Shawn; Lynham, John; Leung, PingSun

2015-02-01

Social capital is an important resource that can be mobilized for purposive action or competitive gain. The distribution of social capital in social-ecological systems can determine who is more productive at extracting ecological resources and who emerges as influential in guiding their management, thereby empowering some while disempowering others. Despite its importance, the factors that contribute to variation in social capital among individuals have not been widely studied. We adopt a network perspective to examine what determines social capital among individuals in social-ecological systems. We begin by identifying network measures of social capital relevant for individuals in this context, and review existing evidence concerning their determinants. Using a complete social network dataset from Hawaii's longline fishery, we employ social network analysis and other statistical methods to empirically estimate these measures and determine the extent to which individual stakeholder attributes explain variation within them. We find that ethnicity is the strongest predictor of social capital. Measures of human capital (i.e., education, experience), years living in the community, and information-sharing attitudes are also important. Surprisingly, we find that when controlling for other factors, industry leaders and formal fishery representatives are generally not well connected. Our results offer new quantitative insights on the relationship between stakeholder diversity, social networks, and social capital in a coupled social-ecological system, which can aid in identifying barriers and opportunities for action to overcome resource management problems. Our results also have implications for achieving resource governance that is not only ecologically and economically sustainable, but also equitable.

What Determines Social Capital in a Social-Ecological System? Insights from a Network Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnes-Mauthe, Michele; Gray, Steven Allen; Arita, Shawn; Lynham, John; Leung, PingSun

2015-02-01

Social capital is an important resource that can be mobilized for purposive action or competitive gain. The distribution of social capital in social-ecological systems can determine who is more productive at extracting ecological resources and who emerges as influential in guiding their management, thereby empowering some while disempowering others. Despite its importance, the factors that contribute to variation in social capital among individuals have not been widely studied. We adopt a network perspective to examine what determines social capital among individuals in social-ecological systems. We begin by identifying network measures of social capital relevant for individuals in this context, and review existing evidence concerning their determinants. Using a complete social network dataset from Hawaii's longline fishery, we employ social network analysis and other statistical methods to empirically estimate these measures and determine the extent to which individual stakeholder attributes explain variation within them. We find that ethnicity is the strongest predictor of social capital. Measures of human capital (i.e., education, experience), years living in the community, and information-sharing attitudes are also important. Surprisingly, we find that when controlling for other factors, industry leaders and formal fishery representatives are generally not well connected. Our results offer new quantitative insights on the relationship between stakeholder diversity, social networks, and social capital in a coupled social-ecological system, which can aid in identifying barriers and opportunities for action to overcome resource management problems. Our results also have implications for achieving resource governance that is not only ecologically and economically sustainable, but also equitable.

Social Capital in an Outdoor Recreation Context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, Marilynne; Leahy, Jessica

2010-02-01

This study examined social capital development in three all-terrain vehicles (ATV) clubs in Maine using an adapted version of Lin’s (2001) social capital theory model. The structural components of social capital identified included collective assets and individual assets in the form of normative behavior and trust relationships. Also identified were counter-norms for individual ATV riders identified as having divergent norms from club members. The second component of social capital is access to and mobilization of network contacts and resources. Access networks in the context of the ATV clubs studied were identified as community and landowner relations while mobilization of resources was existent in club membership attempts toward self-governance and efforts of the statewide “umbrella” organization. Instrumental outcomes benefit society and expressive outcomes benefit the individual. Both types of returns are present in the data suggesting that ATV clubs are creating social capital. This is important information to clubs who desire to market themselves, improve their reputations, and enhance their volunteer association. It is of further interest to state governments who fund clubs through trail grants as proof that a return on investment is being realized. Theoretical and applied implications for these and other types of recreation-based volunteer associations (e.g., clubs, friends groups, advocacy groups) are presented.

Measuring Social Capital among Youth: Applications in Environmental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krasny, Marianne E.; Kalbacker, Leigh; Stedman, Richard C.; Russ, Alex

2015-01-01

Although critiqued for circular reasoning and lack of definitional and analytic clarity, social capital has garnered widespread interest in two areas relevant to environmental education (EE): the impact of family and community-level social capital on positive youth development and of community-level social capital in fostering collective action to…

The moderating role of attachment anxiety on social network site use intensity and social capital.

PubMed

Liu, Haihua; Shi, Junqi; Liu, Yihao; Sheng, Zitong

2013-02-01

This study examined the moderating role of attachment anxiety on the relationship between intensity of social network site use and bridging, bonding, and maintained social capital. Data from 322 undergraduate Chinese students were collected. Hierarchical regression analyses showed positive relationships between online intensity of social network site use and the three types of social capital. Moreover, attachment anxiety moderated the effect of intensity of social network site use on social capital. Specifically, for students with lower attachment anxiety, the relationships between intensity of social network site use and bonding and bridging social capital were stronger than those with higher attachment anxiety. The result suggested that social network sites cannot improve highly anxiously attached individuals' social capital effectively; they may need more face-to-face communications.

"I Don't Know What Fun Is": Examining the Intersection of Social Capital, Social Networks, and Social Recovery.

PubMed

Boeri, Miriam; Gardner, Megan; Gerken, Erin; Ross, Melissa; Wheeler, Jack

The purpose of this paper is to understand how people with problematic drug use access positive social capital. Social capital is defined as relations that provide valuable resources to individuals through participation in social networks. People with low socioeconomic status remain at a disadvantage for acquiring positive social capital, a component of recovery capital. The concept of social recovery emphasises the relational processes of recovery. In-depth life history data were collected from 29 individuals who used heroin, cocaine, crack, or methamphetamine for at least five years, have less than a high school education, and unstable employment and housing. Qualitative data were coded for social networks accessed throughout the life course, distinguished by bonding, bridging and linking social capital. Social networks included drug treatment programs; non-drug-using family and friends; religious/spiritual groups; workplace networks, and social clubs/activities. Bonding and/or bridging social capital were acquired through treatment, family and friends, religious/spiritual groups, workplaces, and social clubs. Linking social capital was not acquired through any social networks available, and many barriers to accessing mainstream social networks were found. This is a small study conducted in the US. A greater focus on social recovery is needed to achieve sustained recovery for individuals lacking access to and engagement in mainstream social networks. Social recovery is proposed as an analytical tool as well as for developing prevention, intervention, and treatment strategies.

Social Capital and Health: A Review of Prospective Multilevel Studies

PubMed Central

Murayama, Hiroshi; Fujiwara, Yoshinori; Kawachi, Ichiro

2012-01-01

Background This article presents an overview of the concept of social capital, reviews prospective multilevel analytic studies of the association between social capital and health, and discusses intervention strategies that enhance social capital. Methods We conducted a systematic search of published peer-reviewed literature on the PubMed database and categorized studies according to health outcome. Results We identified 13 articles that satisfied the inclusion criteria for the review. In general, both individual social capital and area/workplace social capital had positive effects on health outcomes, regardless of study design, setting, follow-up period, or type of health outcome. Prospective studies that used a multilevel approach were mainly conducted in Western countries. Although we identified some cross-sectional multilevel studies that were conducted in Asian countries, including Japan, no prospective studies have been conducted in Asia. Conclusions Prospective evidence from multilevel analytic studies of the effect of social capital on health is very limited at present. If epidemiologic findings on the association between social capital and health are to be put to practical use, we must gather additional evidence and explore the feasibility of interventions that build social capital as a means of promoting health. PMID:22447212

Social capital and health: a review of prospective multilevel studies.

PubMed

Murayama, Hiroshi; Fujiwara, Yoshinori; Kawachi, Ichiro

2012-01-01

This article presents an overview of the concept of social capital, reviews prospective multilevel analytic studies of the association between social capital and health, and discusses intervention strategies that enhance social capital. We conducted a systematic search of published peer-reviewed literature on the PubMed database and categorized studies according to health outcome. We identified 13 articles that satisfied the inclusion criteria for the review. In general, both individual social capital and area/workplace social capital had positive effects on health outcomes, regardless of study design, setting, follow-up period, or type of health outcome. Prospective studies that used a multilevel approach were mainly conducted in Western countries. Although we identified some cross-sectional multilevel studies that were conducted in Asian countries, including Japan, no prospective studies have been conducted in Asia. Prospective evidence from multilevel analytic studies of the effect of social capital on health is very limited at present. If epidemiologic findings on the association between social capital and health are to be put to practical use, we must gather additional evidence and explore the feasibility of interventions that build social capital as a means of promoting health.

Social capital and job satisfaction among substance abuse treatment employees.

PubMed

Tsounis, Andreas; Niakas, Dimitris; Sarafis, Pavlos

2017-02-15

Job satisfaction is an important predictor for management and clinical ratios. Although it is accepted that is affected by many aspects, the influence of social capital remains to be determined. The main purpose of the article is to examine the relationship between job satisfaction and individual social capital for employees offering services in the treatment of addiction. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 239 employees from 14 therapeutic programs at KETEA (Therapy Center for Dependent Individuals in Greece) (KETHEA). A revised Greek Version of the Social Capital Questionnaire (SCQ-G) for the individual social capital measurement, and of the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) for the job satisfaction measurement, were used. Individual Social Capital ranged in medium levels. We observed a significant positive association between social capital and its' different aspects and gender, age, place of residence and working experience. Men, older employees, those who lived in smaller places, and those working more years, reached higher levels of individual social capital. Concerning overall job satisfaction most of the participants were ambivalent (61.5%), while 21.8% were satisfied and 16.7% were dissatisfied. Concerning its separate aspects, 77% were least satisfied with pay, 69.9% were least satisfied with advancement opportunities, 60.3% were least satisfied with fringe benefits, 85.8% were most satisfied with the nature of their work, 80.8% with their relationship with colleagues, and 77.8% were satisfied with supervision. Total Job Satisfaction was positively associated with place of residence and monthly salary. A significant positive correlation between social capital and job satisfaction was also observed. Early evidence suggests that social capital is associated with job satisfaction of employees providing services in the treatment of substance abuse. Further research, regarding social capital on job satisfaction, is suggested. We need to design and implement

Social Capital and the Educational Achievement of Young People in Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Behtoui, Alireza; Neergaard, Anders

2016-01-01

Based on Bourdieu's conceptualization of social capital (the social stratification perspective), this study examines the impact of social capital on the educational outcomes of young people in Sweden, with a focus on the extra-familial aspect of social capital -- that is, social capital generated by parental networks and active membership in…

Association Between Community Social Capital and Hospital Readmission Rates.

PubMed

Brewster, Amanda L; Lee, Suhna; Curry, Leslie A; Bradley, Elizabeth H

2018-05-31

Hospital readmissions remain frequent, and are partly attributable to patients' social needs. The authors sought to examine whether local community levels of social capital are associated with hospital readmission rates. Social capital refers to the connections among members of a society that foster norms of reciprocity and trust, which may influence the availability of support for postdischarge recovery after hospitalization. Associations between hospital-wide, risk-stratified readmission rates for hospitals in the United States (n = 4298) and levels of social capital in the hospitals' service areas were examined. Social capital was measured by an index of participation in associational activities and civic affairs. A multivariate linear regression model was used to adjust for hospital and community factors such as hospital financial performance, race, income, and availability of heath care services. Results showed that higher social capital was significantly associated with lower readmission rates (P < .01), a finding that held across income-stratified analyses as well as sensitivity analyses that included hospital performance on process quality measures and hospital community engagement activities. A hospital is unlikely to be able to influence prevailing levels of social capital in its region, but in areas of low social capital, it may be possible for public or philanthropic sectors to buttress the types of institutions that address nonmedical causes of readmission.

Does workplace social capital protect against long-term sickness absence? Linking workplace aggregated social capital to sickness absence registry data.

PubMed

Hansen, Anne-Sophie K; Madsen, Ida E H; Thorsen, Sannie Vester; Melkevik, Ole; Bjørner, Jakob Bue; Andersen, Ingelise; Rugulies, Reiner

2018-05-01

Most previous prospective studies have examined workplace social capital as a resource of the individual. However, literature suggests that social capital is a collective good. In the present study we examined whether a high level of workplace aggregated social capital (WASC) predicts a decreased risk of individual-level long-term sickness absence (LTSA) in Danish private sector employees. A sample of 2043 employees (aged 18-64 years, 38.5% women) from 260 Danish private-sector companies filled in a questionnaire on workplace social capital and covariates. WASC was calculated by assigning the company-averaged social capital score to all employees of each company. We derived LTSA, defined as sickness absence of more than three weeks, from a national register. We examined if WASC predicted employee LTSA using multilevel survival analyses, while excluding participants with LTSA in the three months preceding baseline. We found no statistically significant association in any of the analyses. The hazard ratio for LTSA in the fully adjusted model was 0.93 (95% CI 0.77-1.13) per one standard deviation increase in WASC. When using WASC as a categorical exposure we found a statistically non-significant tendency towards a decreased risk of LTSA in employees with medium WASC (fully adjusted model: HR 0.78 (95% CI 0.48-1.27)). Post hoc analyses with workplace social capital as a resource of the individual showed similar results. WASC did not predict LTSA in this sample of Danish private-sector employees.

Social capital and social inequality in adolescents' health in 601 Flemish communities: a multilevel analysis.

PubMed

De Clercq, B; Vyncke, V; Hublet, A; Elgar, F J; Ravens-Sieberer, U; Currie, C; Hooghe, M; Ieven, A; Maes, L

2012-01-01

Although it is widely acknowledged that community social capital plays an important role in young people's health, there is limited evidence on the effect of community social capital on the social gradient in child and adolescent health. Using data from the 2005-2006 Flemish (Belgium) Health Behavior among School-aged Children survey (601 communities, n = 10,915), this study investigated whether community social capital is an independent determinant of adolescents' perceived health and well-being after taking account of individual compositional characteristics (e.g. the gender composition within a certain community). Multilevel statistical procedures were used to estimate neighborhood effects while controlling for individual level effects. Results show that individual level factors (such as family affluence and individual social capital) are positively related to perceived health and well-being and that community level social capital predicted health better than individual social capital. A significant complex interaction effect was found, such that the social gradient in perceived health and well-being (i.e. the slope of family affluence on health) was flattened in communities with a high level of community social capital. Furthermore it seems that socioeconomic status differences in perceived health and well-being substantially narrow in communities where a certain (average) level of community social capital is present. This should mean that individuals living in communities with a low level of community social capital especially benefit from an increase in community social capital. The paper substantiates the need to connect individual health to their meso socioeconomic context and this being intrinsically within a multilevel framework. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes in Small Town Social Capital and Civic Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Besser, Terry L.

2009-01-01

Small towns are often depicted as places with many interpersonal relationships and generalized trust, or high social capital. Social capital is a resource which towns can use to solve problems and improve the local quality of life. In this paper, I determined if social capital and civic engagements have declined in small towns in the U.S. Midwest…

Social Capital and Child Welfare.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jack, Gordon; Jordan, Bill

1999-01-01

Examines social and economic inequalities in the United Kingdom. Demonstrates how children's welfare and family functioning are crucially dependent upon locally available social support. Argues that building social capital in poor communities is more effective in promoting children's welfare than is present emphasis on formal child-protection and…

New Superintendents: Trust, Networking, and Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ripley, Joan; Mitchell, Roxanne M.; Richman, John A.

2013-01-01

This instrumental case study explored how five newly appointed superintendents identified key stakeholders and built trust and social capital with stakeholders in their districts. Stakeholder, trust, and social capital theory were the lenses that guided this study. We utilized a pragmatic research design and thematic data analysis to interpret our…

Validating the Measurement of Social Capital in Bangladesh: A Cognitive Approach

PubMed Central

Story, William T.; Taleb, Fahmida; Ahasan, S.M. Monirul; Ali, Nabeel A.

2015-01-01

Despite the growing evidence linking social capital to improvements in health and health behaviors, reliable measures of social capital are lacking in low-income countries. To accurately measure social capital in new contexts, there is a need to validate social capital survey questions in each new cultural setting. In this article we examine the content validity of the measurement of social capital in Bangladesh using qualitative methods. In December 2012, we conducted four focus group discussions and 32 cognitive interviews in one rural subdistrict (Durgapur) and one urban slum (Mirpur). We used the findings from the focus groups and cognitive interviews to create a new social capital survey instrument that can be used by health and development organizations in Bangladesh. Furthermore, in this article we provide insight into social capital survey research in general, including suggestions for the measurement of group membership, social support, collective action, and social trust. PMID:25857652

How to invest in social capital.

PubMed

Prusak, L; Cohen, D

2001-06-01

Business runs better when people within a company have close ties and trust one another. But the relationships that make organizations work effectively are under assault for several reasons. Building such "social capital" is difficult in volatile times. Disruptive technologies spawn new markets daily, and organizations respond with constantly changing structures. The problem is worsened by the virtuality of many of today's workplaces, with employees working off-site or on their own. What's more, few managers know how to invest in such social capital. The authors describe how managers can help their organizations thrive by making effective investments in social capital. For instance, companies that value social capital demonstrate a commitment to retention as a way of limiting workplace volatility. The authors cite SAS's extensive efforts to signal to employees that it sees them as human beings, not just workers. Managers can build trust by showing trust themselves, as well as by rewarding trust and sending clear signals to employees. They can foster cooperation by giving employees a common sense of purpose through good strategic communication and inspirational leadership. Johnson & Johnson's well-known credo, which says the company's first responsibility is to the people who use its products, has helped the company in time of adversity, as in 1982 when cyanide in Tylenol capsules killed seven people. Other methods of fostering cooperation include rewarding the behavior with cash and establishing rules that get people into the habit of cooperating. Social capital, once a given in organizations, is now rare and endangered. By investing in it, companies will be better positioned to seize the opportunities in today's volatile, virtual business environment.

Religious social capital: Its measurement and utility in the study of the social determinants of health

PubMed Central

Maselko, Joanna; Hughes, Cayce; Cheney, Rose

2014-01-01

As a social determinant of health, religiosity remains not well understood, despite the prevalence of religious activity and prominence of religious institutions in most societies. This paper introduces a working measure of Religious Social Capital and presents preliminary associations with neighborhood social capital and urban stressors. Religious social capital is defined as the social resources available to individuals and groups through their social connections with a religious community. Domains covered include group membership, social integration, values/norms, bonding/bridging trust as well as social support. Cross-sectional data come from a convenience sample of 104 community dwelling adults residing in a single urban neighborhood in a large US city, who also provided information on neighborhood social capital, and experiences of urban stressors. Results suggest that religious social capital is a valid construct that can be reliably measured. All indicators of religious social capital were higher among those who frequently attended religious services, with the exception of bridging trust (trust of people from different religious groups). A weak, inverse, association was also observed between religious and neighborhood social capital levels. Levels of religious social capital were correlated with higher levels of reported urban stressors, while neighborhood social capital was correlated with lower urban stressor levels. A significant percent of the sample was unaffiliated with a religious tradition and these individuals were more likely to be male, young and more highly educated. Social capital is a promising construct to help elucidate the influence of religion on population health. PMID:21802182

Building social capital in post-conflict communities: evidence from Nicaragua.

PubMed

Brune, Nancy E; Bossert, Thomas

2009-03-01

Studies of social capital have focused on the static relationship between social capital and health, governance and economic conditions. This study is a first attempt to evaluate interventions designed to improve the levels of social capital in post-conflict communities in Nicaragua and to relate those increases to health and governance issues. The two-year study involved a baseline household survey of approximately 200 households in three communities in Nicaragua, the implementation of systematic interventions designed to increase social capital in two of the locales (with one control group), and a second household survey administered two years after the baseline survey. We found that systematic interventions promoting management and leadership development were effective in improving some aspects of social capital, in particular the cognitive attitudes of trust in the communities. Interventions were also linked to higher levels of civic participation in governance processes. As in other empirical studies, we also found that higher levels of social capital were significantly associated with some positive health behaviors. The behavioral/structural components of social capital (including participation in groups and social networks) were associated with more desirable individual health behaviors such as the use of modern medicine to treat children's respiratory illnesses. Attitudinal components of social capital were positively linked to community health behaviors such as working on community sanitation campaigns. The findings presented here should be of interest to policy makers interested in health policy and social capital, as well as those working in conflict-ridden communities in the developing world.

Social Capital: Does It Add to the Health Inequalities Debate?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chappell, Neena L.; Funk, Laura M.

2010-01-01

This paper empirically examines the relationship between advantage, social capital and health status to assess (a) whether social capital adds explanatory power to what we already know about the relationship between advantage and health and (b) whether social capital adds anything beyond its component parts, namely social participation and trust.…

Social capital, socioeconomic status, and depression in community-living elderly.

PubMed

Han, Kyu-Man; Han, Changsu; Shin, Cheolmin; Jee, Hee-Jung; An, Hyonggin; Yoon, Ho-Kyoung; Ko, Young-Hoon; Kim, Seung-Hyun

2018-03-01

A growing body of evidence has suggested that social capital is an upstream social determinant of mental health. We investigated the association of cognitive social capital, including interpersonal trust and reciprocity, with depressive symptoms in the elderly. We also explored the mediating role of cognitive social capital in the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and depressive symptoms and the moderating effect of SES on the relationship between social capital and depressive symptoms. Data from the 2012 Korea Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS) was analyzed for 5969 participants aged 60 years or older. Cognitive components of social capital, including interpersonal trust and reciprocity, were evaluated using single-item questionnaires. Socioeconomic and health-related characteristics were investigated and depressive symptoms were evaluated by an 11-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Low interpersonal trust and reciprocity levels were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the elderly. Reciprocity level mediated the association between household income level and depressive symptoms. We did not observe any significant moderating effect of SES on the association between cognitive social capital and depressive symptoms. A significant association between cognitive social capital and depressive symptoms in Korean elderly was found. We elucidated how SES interacted with depressive symptoms through the mediation pathway of cognitive social capital using a representative sample of the Korean elderly population. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Social capital, ideology, and health in the United States.

PubMed

Herian, Mitchel N; Tay, Louis; Hamm, Joseph A; Diener, Ed

2014-03-01

Research from across disciplines has demonstrated that social and political contextual factors at the national and subnational levels can impact the health and health behavior risks of individuals. This paper examines the impact of state-level social capital and ideology on individual-level health outcomes in the U.S. Leveraging the variation that exists across states in the U.S., the results reveal that individuals report better health in states with higher levels of governmental liberalism and in states with higher levels of social capital. Critically, however, the effect of social capital was moderated by liberalism such that social capital was a stronger predictor of health in states with low levels of liberalism. We interpret this finding to mean that social capital within a political unit-as indicated by measures of interpersonal trust-can serve as a substitute for the beneficial impacts that might result from an active governmental structure. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reggio Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stejzygier, Aneta

2009-01-01

The paper presents the social capital as the essential element of success of the Reggio Emilia preschools known for their unique approach to the early childhood education. The collaborative effort is introduced through examples of the currently ongoing "Reggio Narrates" project of Reggio preschools, the "Dialogue with the…

Social Capital: Its Constructs and Survey Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enfield, Richard P.; Nathaniel, Keith C.

2013-01-01

This article reports on experiences and methods of adapting a valid adult social capital assessment to youth audiences in order to measure social capital and sense of place. The authors outline the process of adapting, revising, prepiloting, piloting, and administering a youth survey exploring young people's sense of community, involvement in the…

Validating the measurement of social capital in Bangladesh: a cognitive approach.

PubMed

Story, William T; Taleb, Fahmida; Ahasan, S M Monirul; Ali, Nabeel A

2015-06-01

Despite the growing evidence linking social capital to improvements in health and health behaviors, reliable measures of social capital are lacking in low-income countries. To accurately measure social capital in new contexts, there is a need to validate social capital survey questions in each new cultural setting. In this article, we examine the content validity of the measurement of social capital in Bangladesh using qualitative methods. In December 2012, we conducted four focus group discussions and 32 cognitive interviews in one rural subdistrict (Durgapur) and one urban slum (Mirpur). We used the findings from the focus groups and cognitive interviews to create a new social capital survey instrument that can be used by health and development organizations in Bangladesh. Furthermore, in this article, we provide insight into social capital survey research in general, including suggestions for the measurement of group membership, social support, collective action, and social trust. © The Author(s) 2015.

Social capital to strengthen health policy and health systems.

PubMed

Ogden, Jessica; Morrison, Ken; Hardee, Karen

2014-12-01

This article recounts the development of a model for social capital building developed over the course of interventions focused on HIV-related stigma and discrimination, safe motherhood and reproductive health. Through further engagement with relevant literature, it explores the nature of social capital and suggests why undertaking such a process can enhance health policy and programmes, advocacy and governance for improved health systems strengthening (HSS) outcomes. The social capital process proposed facilitates the systematic and effective inclusion of community voices in the health policy process-strengthening programme effectiveness as well as health system accountability and governance. Because social capital building facilitates communication and the uptake of new ideas, norms and standards within and between professional communities of practice, it can provide an important mechanism for integration both within and between sectors-a process long considered a 'wicked problem' for health policy-makers. The article argues that the systematic application of social capital building, from bonding through bridging into linking social capital, can greatly enhance the ability of governments and their partners to achieve their HSS goals. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2013; all rights reserved.

Does workplace social capital protect against long-term sickness absence? Linking workplace aggregated social capital to sickness absence registry data

PubMed Central

Hansen, Anne-Sophie K.; Madsen, Ida E. H.; Thorsen, Sannie Vester; Melkevik, Ole; Bjørner, Jakob Bue; Andersen, Ingelise; Rugulies, Reiner

2017-01-01

Aims: Most previous prospective studies have examined workplace social capital as a resource of the individual. However, literature suggests that social capital is a collective good. In the present study we examined whether a high level of workplace aggregated social capital (WASC) predicts a decreased risk of individual-level long-term sickness absence (LTSA) in Danish private sector employees. Methods: A sample of 2043 employees (aged 18–64 years, 38.5% women) from 260 Danish private-sector companies filled in a questionnaire on workplace social capital and covariates. WASC was calculated by assigning the company-averaged social capital score to all employees of each company. We derived LTSA, defined as sickness absence of more than three weeks, from a national register. We examined if WASC predicted employee LTSA using multilevel survival analyses, while excluding participants with LTSA in the three months preceding baseline. Results: We found no statistically significant association in any of the analyses. The hazard ratio for LTSA in the fully adjusted model was 0.93 (95% CI 0.77–1.13) per one standard deviation increase in WASC. When using WASC as a categorical exposure we found a statistically non-significant tendency towards a decreased risk of LTSA in employees with medium WASC (fully adjusted model: HR 0.78 (95% CI 0.48–1.27)). Post hoc analyses with workplace social capital as a resource of the individual showed similar results. Conclusions: WASC did not predict LTSA in this sample of Danish private-sector employees. PMID:28784025

Age, Period and Cohort Effects on Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwadel, Philip; Stout, Michael

2012-01-01

Researchers hypothesize that social capital in the United States is not just declining, but that it is declining across "generations" or birth cohorts. Testing this proposition, we examine changes in social capital using age-period-cohort intrinsic estimator models. Results from analyses of 1972-2010 General Social Survey data show (1)…

Neighborhood differences in social capital in Ghent (Belgium): a multilevel approach.

PubMed

Neutens, Tijs; Vyncke, Veerle; De Winter, Dieter; Willems, Sara

2013-11-13

Little research has focused on the spatial distribution of social capital, despite social capital's rising popularity in health research and policy. This study examines the neighborhood differences in social capital and the determinants that explain these differences. Five components of neighborhood social capital are identified by means of factor and reliability analyses using data collected in the cross-sectional SWING study from 762 inhabitants in 42 neighbourhoods in the city of Ghent (Belgium). Neighborhood differences in social capital are explored using hierarchical linear models with cross-level interactions. Significant neighborhood differences are found for social cohesion, informal social control and social support, but not for social leverage and generalized trust. Our findings suggest that neighborhood social capital depends on both characteristics of individuals living in the neighborhood (attachment to neighborhood) and characteristics of the neighborhood itself (deprivation and residential turnover). Our analysis further shows that neighborhood deprivation reinforces the negative effect of declining neighborhood attachment on social cohesion and informal social control. This study foregrounds the importance of contextual effects in encouraging neighborhood social capital. Given the importance of neighborhood-level characteristics, it can be anticipated social capital promoting initiatives are likely to be more effective when tailored to specific areas. Second, our analyses show that not all forms of social capital are influenced by contextual factors to the same extent, implying that changes in neighborhood characteristics are conducive to, say, trust while leaving social support unaffected. Finally, our analysis has demonstrated that complex interrelationships between individual- and neighborhood-level variables exist, which are often overlooked in current work.

Social Capital, Social Inclusion and Changing School Contexts: A Scottish Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGonigal, James; Doherty, Robert; Allan, Julie; Mills, Sarah; Catts, Ralph; Redford, Morag; McDonald, Andy; Mott, Jane; Buckley, Christine

2007-01-01

This paper synthesises a collaborative review of social capital theory, with particular regard for its relevance to the changing educational landscape within Scotland. The review considers the common and distinctive elements of social capital, developed by the founding fathers--Putnam, Bourdieu and Coleman--and explores how these might help to…

Social capital and oral health: The association of social capital with edentulism and chewing ability in the rural elderly.

PubMed

Kim, Eun-Kyong; Jung, Yun-Sook; Kim, Kyung-Hee; Kim, Ki-Rim; Kwon, Gi-Hong; Choi, Youn-Hee; Lee, Hee-Kyung

2018-01-01

The association between social capital and oral health had been reported in various ways, but still remains unclear. We investigated the association between the social capital of the elderly living in a rural region and their edentulism and chewing ability. A total of 241 elderly aged≥70years living in a rural city of Korea participated in this cross-sectional study. Their social capital was surveyed by questionnaire assessing its network and trust dimensions. Their edentulism and chewing ability were assessed by oral examination and chewing gum whose color changes based on the mastication performance. The mean age of the participants was 82.7 (ranged 71 to 101) years and 68.8% of them were female. In the binomial regression analysis, the general network aspect of the network dimension was significantly associated with chewing ability, of which the prevalence ratio was 1.88 (95% CI: 1.16-3.06) in the age, sex, education and marital status-adjusted model. Our findings suggest that social capital, such as a poor social network, is associated with poor chewing ability in the elderly living in rural areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

“I Don’t Know What Fun Is”: Examining the Intersection of Social Capital, Social Networks, and Social Recovery

PubMed Central

Boeri, Miriam; Gardner, Megan; Gerken, Erin; Ross, Melissa; Wheeler, Jack

2016-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how people with problematic drug use access positive social capital. Social capital is defined as relations that provide valuable resources to individuals through participation in social networks. People with low socioeconomic status remain at a disadvantage for acquiring positive social capital, a component of recovery capital. The concept of social recovery emphasises the relational processes of recovery. Design/methodology/approach In-depth life history data were collected from 29 individuals who used heroin, cocaine, crack, or methamphetamine for at least five years, have less than a high school education, and unstable employment and housing. Qualitative data were coded for social networks accessed throughout the life course, distinguished by bonding, bridging and linking social capital. Findings Social networks included drug treatment programs; non-drug-using family and friends; religious/spiritual groups; workplace networks, and social clubs/activities. Bonding and/or bridging social capital were acquired through treatment, family and friends, religious/spiritual groups, workplaces, and social clubs. Linking social capital was not acquired through any social networks available, and many barriers to accessing mainstream social networks were found. Limitations This is a small study conducted in the US. Social implications A greater focus on social recovery is needed to achieve sustained recovery for individuals lacking access to and engagement in mainstream social networks. Practical implications Social recovery is proposed as an analytical tool as well as for developing prevention, intervention, and treatment strategies. PMID:27668008

Social capital and trust in providers.

PubMed

Ahern, Melissa M; Hendryx, Michael S

2003-10-01

Trust in providers has been in decline in recent decades. This study attempts to identify sources of trust in characteristics of health care systems and the wider community. The design is cross-sectional. Data are from (1) the 1996 Household Survey of the Community Tracking Study, drawn from 24 Metropolitan Statistical Areas; (2) a 1996 multi-city broadcast media marketing database including key social capital indicators; (3) Interstudy; (4) the American Hospital Association; and (5) the American Medical Association. Independent variables include individual socio-demographic variables, HMO enrollment, community-level health sector variables, and social capital. The dependent variable is self-reported trust in physicians. Data are merged from the various sources and analyzed using SUDAAN. Subjects include adults in the Household Survey who responded to the items on trust in physicians (N=17,653). Trust in physicians is independently predicted by community social capital (p<0.001). Trust is also negatively related to HMO enrollment and to many individual characteristics. The effect of HMOs is not uniform across all communities. Social capital plays a role in how health care is perceived by citizens, and how health care is delivered by providers. Efforts to build trust and collaboration in a community may improve trust in physicians, health care quality, access, and preserve local health care control.

Social Stigma, Social Capital Reconstruction and Rural Migrants in Urban China: A Population Health Perspective

PubMed Central

Chen, Xinguang; Stanton, Bonita; Kaljee, Linda M.; Fang, Xiaoyi; Xiong, Qing; Lin, Danhua; Zhang, Liying; Li, Xiaoming

2010-01-01

In this study, we examine migrant stigma and its effect on social capital reconstruction among rural migrants who possess legal rural residence but live and work in urban China. After a review of the concepts of stigma and social capital, we report data collected through in-depth interviews with 40 rural migrant workers and 38 urban residents recruited from Beijing, China. Findings from this study indicate that social stigma against rural migrants is common in urban China and is reinforced through media, social institutions and their representatives, and day-to-day interactions. As an important part of discrimination, stigma against migrant workers creates inequality, undermines trust, and reduces opportunities for interpersonal interactions between migrants and urban residents. Through these social processes, social stigma interferes with the reconstruction of social capital (including bonding, bridging and linking social capital) for individual rural migrants as well as for their communities. The interaction between stigma and social capital reconstruction may present as a mechanism by which migration leads to negative health consequences. Results from this study underscore the need for taking measures against migrant stigma and alternatively work toward social capital reconstruction for health promotion and disease prevention among this population. PMID:21516266

Social Stigma, Social Capital Reconstruction and Rural Migrants in Urban China: A Population Health Perspective.

PubMed

Chen, Xinguang; Stanton, Bonita; Kaljee, Linda M; Fang, Xiaoyi; Xiong, Qing; Lin, Danhua; Zhang, Liying; Li, Xiaoming

2011-01-01

In this study, we examine migrant stigma and its effect on social capital reconstruction among rural migrants who possess legal rural residence but live and work in urban China. After a review of the concepts of stigma and social capital, we report data collected through in-depth interviews with 40 rural migrant workers and 38 urban residents recruited from Beijing, China. Findings from this study indicate that social stigma against rural migrants is common in urban China and is reinforced through media, social institutions and their representatives, and day-to-day interactions. As an important part of discrimination, stigma against migrant workers creates inequality, undermines trust, and reduces opportunities for interpersonal interactions between migrants and urban residents. Through these social processes, social stigma interferes with the reconstruction of social capital (including bonding, bridging and linking social capital) for individual rural migrants as well as for their communities. The interaction between stigma and social capital reconstruction may present as a mechanism by which migration leads to negative health consequences. Results from this study underscore the need for taking measures against migrant stigma and alternatively work toward social capital reconstruction for health promotion and disease prevention among this population.

Twenty years of social capital and health research: a glossary.

PubMed

Moore, S; Kawachi, I

2017-05-01

Research on social capital in public health is approaching its 20th anniversary. Over this period, there have been rich and productive debates on the definition, measurement and importance of social capital for public health research and practice. As a result, the concepts and measures characterising social capital and health research have also evolved, often drawing from research in the social, political and behavioural sciences. The multidisciplinary adaptation of social capital-related concepts to study health has made it challenging for researchers to reach consensus on a common theoretical approach. This glossary thus aims to provide a general overview without recommending any particular approach. Based on our knowledge and research on social capital and health, we have selected key concepts and terms that have gained prominence over the last decade and complement an earlier glossary on social capital and health. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Latent Class Models in action: bridging social capital & Internet usage.

PubMed

Neves, Barbara Barbosa; Fonseca, Jaime R S

2015-03-01

This paper explores how Latent Class Models (LCM) can be applied in social research, when the basic assumptions of regression models cannot be validated. We examine the usefulness of this method with data collected from a study on the relationship between bridging social capital and the Internet. Social capital is defined here as the resources that are potentially available in one's social ties. Bridging is a dimension of social capital, usually related to weak ties (acquaintances), and a source of instrumental resources such as information. The study surveyed a stratified random sample of 417 inhabitants of Lisbon, Portugal. We used LCM to create the variable bridging social capital, but also to estimate the relationship between bridging social capital and Internet usage when we encountered convergence problems with the logistic regression analysis. We conclude by showing a positive relationship between bridging and Internet usage, and by discussing the potential of LCM for social science research. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Limits of Social Capital: Durkheim, Suicide, and Social Cohesion

PubMed Central

Kushner, Howard I.; Sterk, Claire E.

2005-01-01

Recent applications of social capital theories to population health often draw on classic sociological theories for validation of the protective features of social cohesion and social integration. Durkheim’s work on suicide has been cited as evidence that modern life disrupts social cohesion and results in a greater risk of morbidity and mortality—including self-destructive behaviors and suicide. We argue that a close reading of Durkheim’s evidence supports the opposite conclusion and that the incidence of self-destructive behaviors such as suicide is often greatest among those with high levels of social integration. A reexamination of Durkheim’s data on female suicide and suicide in the military suggests that we should be skeptical about recent studies connecting improved population health to social capital. PMID:15933234

The limits of social capital: Durkheim, suicide, and social cohesion.

PubMed

Kushner, Howard I; Sterk, Claire E

2005-07-01

Recent applications of social capital theories to population health often draw on classic sociological theories for validation of the protective features of social cohesion and social integration. Durkheim's work on suicide has been cited as evidence that modern life disrupts social cohesion and results in a greater risk of morbidity and mortality-including self-destructive behaviors and suicide. We argue that a close reading of Durkheim's evidence supports the opposite conclusion and that the incidence of self-destructive behaviors such as suicide is often greatest among those with high levels of social integration. A reexamination of Durkheim's data on female suicide and suicide in the military suggests that we should be skeptical about recent studies connecting improved population health to social capital.

The Emergence of Social Capital in Low-Income Latino Elementary Schools

PubMed Central

Shoji, Megan N.; Haskins, Anna R.; Rangel, David E.; Sorensen, Kia N.

2014-01-01

Scholars suggest that racial/ethnic and class disparities in school-based social capital contribute to educational inequalities. Previous studies demonstrate that social capital (relations of trust, mutual expectations, and shared values) between parents and schools supports children's development. Yet we know little about the emergence of social capital, that is, the processes through which it develops. In this study, we explore mechanisms of social capital emergence in predominantly low-income Latino school communities. We draw data from an experimental study that manipulated social capital through an after-school family engagement program. Based on interviews and focus groups with participating parents, teachers, and program staff in two elementary schools, we identified four types of interactions that act as mechanisms of social capital emergence: (1) responsive communication; (2) reciprocal communication; (3) shared experiences; and (4) institutional linkage. The article connects these mechanisms to theoretically linked sources of social capital and discusses implications for theory and practice. PMID:25246729

Toward a social capital theory of competitive advantage in medical groups.

PubMed

Hoelscher, Mark L; Hoffman, James J; Dawley, David

2005-01-01

Social capital can have a positive impact on medical group performance. We forward our theory based on the integration of theories in social capital, resource advantage, and the resource-based view of the firm. Further, we suggest specific ways in which medical groups can increase their levels of social capital. First, medical groups should design or redesign the workplace so that there is ample interaction among employees. Second, employee participation within the community should be encouraged. Third, medical groups should recognize that social capital becomes ingrained in organizational culture. Therefore, medical groups should take steps to ensure a culture that supports its social capital. Fourth, hiring procedures should be designed (or redesigned) to ensure that new employees add social capital to the organization. Finally, trust must be fostered at the employee level.

Access to health care and community social capital.

PubMed

Hendryx, Michael S; Ahern, Melissa M; Lovrich, Nicholas P; McCurdy, Arthur H

2002-02-01

To test the hypothesis that variation in reported access to health care is positively related to the level of social capital present in a community. The 1996 Household Survey of the Community Tracking Study, drawn from 22 metropolitan statistical areas across the United States (n = 19,672). Additional data for the 22 communities are from a 1996 multicity broadcast media marketing database, including key social capital indicators, the 1997 National Profile of Local Health Departments survey, and Interstudy, American Hospital Association, and American Medical Association sources. The design is cross-sectional. Self-reported access to care problems is the dependent variable. Independent variables include individual sociodemographic variables, community-level health sector variables, and social capital variables. Data are merged from the various sources and weighted to be population representative and are analyzed using hierarchical categorical modeling. Persons who live in metropolitan statistical areas featuring higher levels of social capital report fewer problems accessing health care. A higher HMO penetration rate in a metropolitan statistical area was also associated with fewer access problems. Other health sector variables were not related to health care access. The results observed for 22 major U.S. cities are consistent with the hypothesis that community social capital enables better access to care, perhaps through improving community accountability mechanisms.

Social capital and risk and protective behaviors: a global health perspective

PubMed Central

Kaljee, Linda M; Chen, Xinguang

2011-01-01

Social capital and health research has emerged as a focus of contemporary behavioral epidemiology, while intervention research is seeking more effective measures to increase health protective behaviors and decrease health-risk behaviors. In this review we explored current literature on social capital and health outcomes at the micro-, mesa-, and macro-levels with a particular emphasis on research that incorporates a social capital framework, and adolescent and young adult engagement in risk behaviors. These data indicate that across a broad range of socio-cultural and economic contexts, social capital can affect individuals’ risk for negative health outcomes and their engagement in risk behaviors. Further research is needed which should focus on differentiating and measuring positive and negative social capital within both mainstream and alternative social networks, assessing how social constructions of gender, ethnicity, and race – within specific cultural contexts – mediate the relationship between social capital and risk and/or protective behaviors. This new research should integrate the existing research within historical socioeconomic and political conditions. In addition, social capital scales need to be developed to be both culturally and developmentally appropriate for use with adolescents living in a diversity of settings. Despite the proliferation of social capital research, the concept remains underutilized in both assessment and intervention development for adolescents’ and young adults’ engagement in risk behaviors and their associated short- and long-term poor health outcomes. PMID:23243387

Family social capital and health - a systematic review and redirection.

PubMed

Alvarez, Elena Carrillo; Kawachi, Ichiro; Romani, Jordi Riera

2017-01-01

The level (or scale) at which social capital can be conceptualised and measured ranges potentially from the macro-level (regional or country level), to the meso-level (neighbourhoods, workplaces, schools), down to the individual level. However, one glaring gap in the conceptualisation of social capital within the empirical literature has been the level of the family. Our aim in this review is to examine the family as the 'missing level' in studies on social capital and health. To do so, we conducted a systematic review on the use and measurement of this notion in the health literature, with the final intention of articulating a direction for future research in the field. Our findings are consistent with the notion that family social capital is multidimensional and that its components have distinct effects on health outcomes. Further investigation is needed to understand the mechanisms through which family social capital is related to health, as well as determining the most valid ways to measure family social capital. © 2016 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

Social capital and health-purely a question of context?

PubMed

Giordano, Giuseppe Nicola; Ohlsson, Henrik; Lindström, Martin

2011-07-01

Debate still surrounds which level of analysis (individual vs. contextual) is most appropriate to investigate the effects of social capital on health. Applying multilevel ecometric analyses to British Household Panel Survey data, we estimated fixed and random effects between five individual-, household- and small area-level social capital indicators and general health. We further compared the variance in health attributable to each level using intraclass correlations. Our results demonstrate that association between social capital and health depends on indicator type and level investigated, with one quarter of total individual-level health variance found at the household level. However, individual-level social capital variables and other health determinants appear to influence contextual-level variance the most. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accessing Social Capital through the Academic Mentoring Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Buffy

2007-01-01

This article explores how mentors and mentees create and maintain social capital during the mentoring process. I employ a sociological conceptual framework and rigorous qualitative analytical techniques to examine how students of color and first-generation college students access social capital through mentoring relationships. The findings…

Social Capital by Design: Normative Systems and Social Structures in Six High Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marks, Helen M.

This paper focuses on investigating the purposive design of learning environments to counter the erosion of social capital in communities and schools in contemporary society. Can schools intentionally replenish stocks of social capital by creating normative systems conducive to the optimal academic and social development of students, and by…

HIV stigma and social capital in women living with HIV

PubMed Central

Cuca, Yvette P.; Asher, Alice; Okonsky, Jennifer; Kaihura, Alphoncina; Dawson-Rose, Carol; Webel, Allison

2016-01-01

Women living with HIV (WLWH) continue to experience HIV-related stigma. Social capital is one resource that could mitigate HIV stigma. Our cross-sectional study examined associations between social capital and HIV-related stigma in 135 WLWH in the San Francisco Bay Area. The mean age of study participants was 48 years; 60% were African American; 29% had less than a high school education; and 19% were employed. Age was significantly associated with perceived HIV stigma (p = .001), but total social capital was not. Women with lower Value of Life social capital scores had significantly higher total stigma scores (p = .010) and higher Negative Self-image stigma scores (p = .001). Women who felt less valued in their social worlds may have been more likely to perceive HIV stigma, which could have negative health consequences. This work begins to elucidate the possible relationships between social capital and perceived HIV stigma. PMID:27697368

Teachers, Networks and Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Healey, Kaleen

2013-01-01

A growing body of research suggests that school leaders and policymakers should attend to the social conditions within schools that promote instructional improvement and student achievement gains. This dissertation uses theoretical and empirical work on social capital to frame three aspects of the relationships among teachers. The three studies…

Population levels of wellbeing and the association with social capital.

PubMed

Taylor, A W; Kelly, G; Dal Grande, E; Kelly, D; Marin, T; Hey, N; Burke, K J; Licinio, J

2017-07-03

This research investigates wellbeing at the population level across demographic, social and health indicators and assesses the association between wellbeing and social capital. Data from a South Australian monthly chronic disease/risk factor surveillance system of randomly selected adults (mean age 48.7 years; range 16-99) from 2014/5 (n = 5551) were used. Univariable analyses compared wellbeing/social capital indicators, socio-demographic, risk factors and chronic conditions. Multi-nominal logistic regression modelling, adjusting for multiple covariates was used to simultaneously estimate odds ratios for good wellbeing (reference category) versus neither good nor poor, and good wellbeing versus poor wellbeing. 48.6% were male, mean age 48.7 (sd 18.3), 54.3% scored well on all four of the wellbeing indicators, and positive social capital indicators ranged from 93.1% for safety to 50.8% for control over decisions. The higher level of social capital corresponded with the good wellbeing category. Modeling showed higher odds ratios for all social capital variables for the lowest level of wellbeing. These higher odds ratios remained after adjusting for confounders. The relationship between wellbeing, resilience and social capital highlights areas for increased policy focus.

Banking on Families: How Families Generate and Distribute Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furstenberg, Frank F.

2005-01-01

Before we can determine the relevance of social capital to the sociology of family and kinship, we must fill the gaps in our theoretical knowledge. For example, we still do not know how couples, parents, children, and groups generate, accumulate, manage, and deploy social capital. Neither do we know the consequences of social capital for the…

Neighborhood differences in social capital in Ghent (Belgium): a multilevel approach

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Little research has focused on the spatial distribution of social capital, despite social capital’s rising popularity in health research and policy. This study examines the neighborhood differences in social capital and the determinants that explain these differences. Methods Five components of neighborhood social capital are identified by means of factor and reliability analyses using data collected in the cross-sectional SWING study from 762 inhabitants in 42 neighbourhoods in the city of Ghent (Belgium). Neighborhood differences in social capital are explored using hierarchical linear models with cross-level interactions. Results Significant neighborhood differences are found for social cohesion, informal social control and social support, but not for social leverage and generalized trust. Our findings suggest that neighborhood social capital depends on both characteristics of individuals living in the neighborhood (attachment to neighborhood) and characteristics of the neighborhood itself (deprivation and residential turnover). Our analysis further shows that neighborhood deprivation reinforces the negative effect of declining neighborhood attachment on social cohesion and informal social control. Conclusions This study foregrounds the importance of contextual effects in encouraging neighborhood social capital. Given the importance of neighborhood-level characteristics, it can be anticipated social capital promoting initiatives are likely to be more effective when tailored to specific areas. Second, our analyses show that not all forms of social capital are influenced by contextual factors to the same extent, implying that changes in neighborhood characteristics are conducive to, say, trust while leaving social support unaffected. Finally, our analysis has demonstrated that complex interrelationships between individual- and neighborhood–level variables exist, which are often overlooked in current work. PMID:24225005

Searching for social capital: historical perspectives on health, poverty and culture.

PubMed

Welshman, John

2006-11-01

Social capital has been seen as having a positive effect on health, and the concept of social capital has been viewed as of central importance to debates about healthy, sustainable communities. More generally, behaviour and its relationship with health has become much more central to policy-making, as illustrated in the Choosing Health White Paper (2005), and the concept of social capital has been one influence on the concept of social exclusion. Robert Putnam's arguments, both those expressed in Making Democracy Work (1993) and the revised version seen in Bowling Alone (2000) have been taken up by numerous social scientists and policy-makers. But despite the explicitly historical perspective that Putnam employs in Bowling Alone in particular, the history of social capital remains rather neglected in the available literature. This article is concerned with providing a historical perspective on social capital, especially the ways in which social investigators have viewed the relationships between health, poverty and behaviour. The article puts social capital alongside that of 'underclass' concepts such as the culture of poverty thesis, and examines how the latter has been invented and reinvented in the U.K. and the U.S.A. over the last 120 years. It argues that there are important similarities between the culture of poverty and social capital, but also significant differences, and these have implications for current policy initiatives. One way of analysing concepts like social capital and social exclusion more rigorously is by locating them within this longer-term history of social investigation, in which debates about health, poverty, and culture have been of

Human capital, social capital and social exclusion: impacts on the opportunity of households with youth to leave poverty.

PubMed

Wong, Hung

2006-01-01

Based on a sample survey, this paper, analyzes the impact of human capital, social capital and social exclusion on the opportunity of Hong Kong families with youth members to leave poverty. Educational attainment of the youth members and adult family members, as well as the quantity and quality of social networks were found to have significant positive impacts, while social exclusion from the labor market of the adult members was found to have significant negative impact on their opportunity to leave poverty. Among all factors, quality of social network is the most influential. The author suggests that in order to help families out of poverty and enable positive development of youth members, poverty alleviation policies or programs should be targeted to help the youth in poor families to build up a quality social network.

Social capital and health-protective behavior intentions in an influenza pandemic.

PubMed

Chuang, Ying-Chih; Huang, Ya-Li; Tseng, Kuo-Chien; Yen, Chia-Hsin; Yang, Lin-hui

2015-01-01

Health-protective behaviors, such as receiving a vaccine, wearing a face mask, and washing hands frequently, can reduce the risk of contracting influenza. However, little is known about how social capital may influence health-protective behavior in the general population. This study examined whether each of the social capital dimensions (bonding, bridging, and linking) contributed to the intention to adopt any of the health-protective behaviors in an influenza pandemic. The data of this study were from the 2014 Taiwan Social Change Survey. A stratified, three-stage probability proportional-to-size sampling from across the nation, was conducted to select adults aged 20 years and older (N = 1,745). Bonding social capital was measured by the frequency of neighborly contact and support. Bridging social capital was measured based on association membership. Linking social capital was measured according to general government trust and trust in the government's capacity to counter an influenza pandemic. Binary logistic regressions were used to assess the multivariate associations between social capital and behavioral intention. The study results indicate that social capital may influence the response to influenza pandemic. Specifically, the intention to receive a vaccine and to wash hands more frequently were associated with the linking dimension and the bonding dimension of social capital, while the intention to wear a face mask was associated with all forms of social capital. The findings of this study suggest that government credibility and interpersonal networks may play a crucial role in health-protective behavior. This study provides new insights into how to improve the effectiveness of influenza prevention campaigns.

Natural hazard events and social capital: the social impact of natural disasters.

PubMed

Albrecht, Frederike

2018-04-01

This study investigates if and to what extent natural disasters affect social capital. Twelve different events in Europe are examined in a quantitative analysis, using data derived from the European Social Survey and the EM-DAT International Disaster Database. The study uses social trust as an indicator of social capital and offers evidence that a change in social trust is a possible occurrence during or after a disaster, but that it is not an inevitable consequence of it. The results reveal that social trust decreases after a disaster with a death toll of at least nine. Changes in social capital, therefore, are found to be more probable as the severity of the event increases. National, rather than regional, disasters lead more frequently to significant shifts in social trust. This evaluation of 12 separate cases pinpoints several disasters that have had an effect on social trust, but it does not identify any general patterns, underlining the significance of contextual dependency. © 2018 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2018.

Social Capital and Well-Being: Structural Analyses of Latina Mothers by Nativity.

PubMed

Held, Mary L; Cuellar, Matthew

2016-09-01

Objective This study examined the direct and mediating effects of maternal social capital on health and well-being for native- and foreign-born Latina mothers and their children. Methods Data were drawn from the baseline and nine-year follow up waves of the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study. The study included a sample of 874 Latina mothers. Mplus7 was used to perform structural equation modeling to determine whether exogenous indicators (age, education, and economic well-being) predicted social capital, whether social capital predicted mother and child well-being, and whether mediating effects helped explain each relationship. Results For native-born Latinas (n = 540), social capital did not predict maternal or child well-being. However, social capital significantly mediated the effects of age, education, and economic well-being on maternal well-being. For foreign-born Latinas (n = 334), social capital was a significant predictor of maternal well-being. Social capital also mediated the effects of age, education, and economic well-being on maternal, but not child well-being. Younger and foreign-born Latinas who report higher educational attainment and economic well-being have greater social capital, and thus better self-reported health. Conclusion Findings suggest that social capital is particularly relevant to the health of foreign-born Latinas. For all Latina mothers, social capital may serve as a protective mitigating factor to better health. Health service providers should evaluate the potential to integrate programs that promote social capital accumulation for Latinas. Further research should examine factors to improve the health of Latinas' children.

Social capital and health in China: exploring the mediating role of lifestyle.

PubMed

Xue, Xindong; Cheng, Mingmei

2017-11-06

Although social capital as a key determinant of health has been well established in various studies, little is known about how lifestyle factors mediate this relationship. Understanding the cross-relationships between social capital, health, and lifestyle factors is important if health promotion policies are to be effective. The purpose of this study is to explore whether different dimensions of social capital and lifestyle factors are related, and whether lifestyle factors mediate the association between social capital and self-rated health (SRH) and psychological well-being (PWB) in China. This study used nationally representative data from the 2014 China Family Panel Studies (n = 28,916). The data reported on three dimensions of individual-level social capital: social trust, social relationship and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) membership. Health was assessed using SRH and PWB. Five lifestyle indicators were recorded: healthy diet, physical activity, smoking, sleeping, and non-overweight status. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between social capital and lifestyle factors, and whether there was a mediating role of lifestyle. Odds ratios relating health status to social capital were reported before and after adjustment for lifestyle factors. Mediation analysis was then used to calculate the total, direct and indirect effects of social capital on SRH and PWB. The results show that social trust was significantly associated with all five lifestyle factors. Social relationship was significantly associated with four of the five: healthy diet, physical activity, sleeping and non-overweight. CCP membership was only significantly associated with two lifestyle factors: physical activity and non-overweight. Social trust and social relationship were significantly related to both SRH and PWB. CCP membership was only significantly related to SRH. Mediation analysis found modest evidence that lifestyle factors influenced the relationship between all

The Historically Black College as Social Contract, Social Capital, and Social Equalizer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, M. Christopher, II; Davis, James Earl

2001-01-01

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) enjoy a unique social contract in the national history, acting as social agencies for society by providing equal educational opportunity and attainment for all students. This social contract brokered between the nation and African Americans is realized through social capital or distribution and…

Leadership quality: a factor important for social capital in healthcare organizations.

PubMed

Strömgren, Marcus; Eriksson, Andrea; Ahlstrom, Linda; Bergman, David Kristofer; Dellve, Lotta

2017-04-10

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between leadership and social capital and what qualities of leadership are important for social capital among employees in hospital settings over time. Design/methodology/approach A cohort of employees in hospitals answered a questionnaire at three occasions. Five small (approx. 100-bed) or mid-sized (approx. 500-bed) hospitals were included. The response rate was 54 percent at baseline ( n=865), 59 percent at one-year follow-up ( n=908) and 67 percent at two-year follow-up ( n=632). Findings Repeated measures over time showed differences between groups in levels of social capital with respect to levels of leadership quality. Relation-oriented leadership had the strongest association with social capital. There was evidence that leadership was associated with social capital over time and that different kinds of leadership qualities were associated with social capital. Research limitations/implications This study conducted and analyzed quantitative data, and therefore, there is no knowledge of managers' or employees' own perceptions in this study. However, it would be interesting to compare managers' decreased and increased leadership quality and how such differences affect social capital over time. Practical implications The findings feature the possibility for healthcare leaders to build high quality leadership as an important resource for social capital, by using different leadership orientations under different circumstances. Originality/value The paper showed that leadership was an important factor for building social capital and that different leadership qualities have different importance with respect to certain circumstances.

Research Productivity and Social Capital in Australian Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salaran, Mohammad

2010-01-01

This study investigates the role of social capital in raising research productivity in academic institutions. Social capital as a strategic resource embedded in social relationships can be utilised towards decreasing pressures from external environmental conditions, such as the global financial crisis. A survey was sent to academic staff in five…

Social capital and health: Does egalitarianism matter? A literature review

PubMed Central

Islam, M Kamrul; Merlo, Juan; Kawachi, Ichiro; Lindström, Martin; Gerdtham, Ulf-G

2006-01-01

The aim of the paper is to critically review the notion of social capital and review empirical literature on the association between social capital and health across countries. The methodology used for the review includes a systematic search on electronic databases for peer-reviewed published literature. We categorize studies according to level of analysis (single and multilevel) and examine whether studies reveal a significant health impact of individual and area level social capital. We compare the study conclusions according to the country's degrees of economic egalitarianism. Regardless of study design, our findings indicate that a positive association (fixed effect) exists between social capital and better health irrespective of countries degree of egalitarianism. However, we find that the between-area variance (random effect) in health tends to be lower in more egalitarian countries than in less egalitarian countries. Our tentative conclusion is that an association between social capital and health at the individual level is robust with respect to the degree of egalitarianism within a country. Area level or contextual social capital may be less salient in egalitarian countries in explaining health differences across places. PMID:16597324

Social Capital as the Catalyst for School Participation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iyengar, Radhika

2012-01-01

This article investigates the association between social capital and education in Jhabua, a tribal dominated district of central India. The case study analysis showed a disconnection between social capital and education in the majority of the villages. However, two of the fourteen villages showed that empowerment of the civil society made formal…

Single Mothers, Social Capital, and Work--Family Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciabattari, Teresa

2007-01-01

The purpose of this article is to examine work-family conflict among low-income, unmarried mothers. Analyzing the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national sample of nonmarital births, I examine how social capital affects work-family conflict and how both social capital and work-family conflict affect employment. Results show that…

How Can Action Learning Contribute to Social Capital?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pedler, Mike; Attwood, Margaret

2011-01-01

This paper explores the contribution that action learning can make to the formation of social capital via experiences of action learning projects in NHS Pathology Services in the UK. The paper describes the development of action learning practice in recent years, reviews the notion of social capital and considers how action learning might…

Internet Use Among Older Adults: Association With Health Needs, Psychological Capital, and Social Capital

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Previous studies have identified socioeconomic status and health status as predictors of older adults’ computer and Internet use, but researchers have not examined the relationships between older adults’ health needs and psychological capital (emotional well-being and self-efficacy) and social capital (social integration/ties and support networks) to different types of Internet use. Objective This study examined (1) whether older adults’ health conditions and psychological and social capital differentiate Internet users from nonusers, and (2) whether the Internet users differed in their types of Internet use on the basis of their health conditions and psychological and social capital. Methods Data for this study came from the National Health and Aging Trends Study, which is based on a nationally representative sample of US Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older. The sample for this study were those who resided in the community in their own or others’ homes (N=6680). Binary logistic regression analysis was used to compare health needs, psychological capital, and social capital among (1) any type of Internet users and nonusers, (2) Internet users who engaged in health-related tasks and Internet users who did not, (3) Internet users who engaged in shopping/banking tasks and Internet users who did not, and (4) Internet users only used the Internet for email/texting and all other Internet users. Results Depressive and anxiety symptoms, measures of psychological capital, were negatively associated with Internet use among older adults (odds ratio [OR] 0.83, 95% CI 0.70-0.98, P=.03 and OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.65-0.97, P=.03, respectively), whereas most measures of social capital were positively associated with Internet use. Having more chronic medical conditions and engaging in formal volunteering increased the odds of Internet use for health-related tasks by 1.15 (95% CI 1.08-1.23, P<.001) and 1.28 (95% CI 1.05-1.57, P=.02), respectively, but anxiety

Social identity, social networks and recovery capital in emerging adulthood: A pilot study.

PubMed

Mawson, E; Best, D; Beckwith, M; Dingle, G A; Lubman, D I

2015-11-11

It has been argued that recovery from substance dependence relies on a change in identity, with past research focused on 'personal identity'. This study assessed support for a social identity model of recovery in emerging adults through examining associations between social identity, social networks, recovery capital, and quality of life. Twenty participants aged 18-21 in residential treatment for substance misuse were recruited from four specialist youth drug treatment services - three detoxification facilities and one psychosocial rehabilitation facility in Victoria, Australia. Participants completed a detailed social network interview exploring the substance use of groups in their social networks and measures of quality of life, recovery capital, and social identity. Lower group substance use was associated with higher recovery capital, stronger identification with non-using groups, and greater importance of non-using groups in the social network. Additionally, greater identification with and importance of non-using groups were associated with better environmental quality of life, whereas greater importance conferred on using groups was associated with reduced environmental quality of life. Support was found for the role of social identity processes in reported recovery capital and quality of life. Future research in larger, longitudinal samples is required to improve understanding of social identity processes during treatment and early recovery and its relationship to recovery stability.

Employment, social capital, and community participation among Israelis with disabilities.

PubMed

Araten-Bergman, Tal; Stein, Michael Ashley

2014-01-01

Employment, social capital, and community participation have emerged in recent years as significant concepts for realizing the human rights of individuals with disabilities. Yet the theoretical interrelationship of these concepts remains largely overlooked, as does the empirical basis for understanding the underlying connections. This study explores the relationship between employment status, social capital, community participation, and well-being among Israelis with disabilities. It also explores the unique contribution of social capital to the well-being and integration of individuals with disabilities. 274 participants with self-reported disabilities completed a questionnaire containing measures of individual social capital, community participation, well-being, and background data. Correlation and Univariate analysis were used to compare scores between employed (n=131) and non-employed (n=143) participants, and logistic regression analysis was conducted to test the unique contribution of employment to social inclusion and well-being. Employed participants reported significantly higher levels of social capital and were more integrated in leisure and civic activities than their non-employed counterparts. Moreover, employment status was found to have a significant contribution to the variance in the subjective well-being of participants. By more fully understanding the importance of social capital for community inclusion, practitioners can better address the importance of network-building during the rehabilitation process as a means of promoting social and vocational integration.

Identification of Social Capital on Beef Cattle Farmers Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lestari, V. S.; Sirajuddin, S. N.; Abdullah, A.

2018-02-01

Social capital plays an important role in the development of beef cattle farms in South Sulawesi. The aim of this research was to know the social capital of beef cattle farmers in South Sulawesi. Population of this research was 31 beef cattle farmers. Variable of social capital was mutual trust, norms and linkage. The data were collected from observation and depth interview by using questionnaire. There were 10 questions which were adopted from Australian Center for International Agriculture Research. The answer was scored by using Likert scale ranging from 1 refer to strongly disagree; 2 refer to disagree; 3 refer to not sure; 4 refer to agree and 5 refer to strongly agree. The data were analyzed descriptively by using frequency distribution. The research revealed that the social capital of beef cattle farmers was categorized as “high”.

Measuring Social Capital: The Development of the Social Capital and Cohesion Scale and the Associations between Social Capital and Mental Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magson, Natasha R.; Craven, Rhonda G.; Bodkin-Andrews, Gawaian H.

2014-01-01

Over the last two decades, social capital has received increasing attention in the international literature. Despite the popularity of the construct, problems concerning definition, theoretical conceptualisation, and measurement continue to plague research and policy in this area. This investigation aimed to address this gap by developing a new…

Social capital and burnout among mental healthcare providers.

PubMed

Eliacin, Johanne; Flanagan, Mindy; Monroe-DeVita, Maria; Wasmuth, Sarah; Salyers, Michelle P; Rollins, Angela L

2018-01-06

Provider burnout is a critical problem in mental health services. Contributing factors have been explicated across three domains: personal, job and organizational characteristics. Of these, organizational characteristics, including workplace environment, appear to be particularly important given that most interventions addressing burnout via the other domains (e.g. bolstering personal coping skills) have been modestly effective at best. This study builds on previous research by using social capital as a framework for the experience of work social milieu, and aims to provide a richer understanding of how workplace social environment might impact burnout and help create more effective ways to reduce burnout. Providers (n = 40) taking part in a larger burnout intervention study were randomly selected to take part in interviews regarding their workplace environment and burnout. Participant responses were analyzed thematically. Workplace social milieu revolved around two primary themes: workplace social capital in provider burnout and the protective qualities of social capital in cohesive work teams that appear to mitigate burnout. These results imply that work environments where managers support collaboration and social interaction among work teams may reduce burnout.

Reducing Children’s Behavior Problems through Social Capital: A Causal Assessment

PubMed Central

López Turley, Ruth N.; Gamoran, Adam; McCarty, Alyn Turner; Fish, Rachel

2016-01-01

Behavior problems among young children have serious detrimental effects on short and long-term educational outcomes. An especially promising prevention strategy may be one that focuses on strengthening the relationships among families in schools, or social capital. However, empirical research on social capital has been constrained by conceptual and causal ambiguity. This study attempts to construct a more focused conceptualization of social capital and aims to determine the causal effects of social capital on children’s behavior. Using data from a cluster randomized trial of 52 elementary schools, we apply several multilevel models to assess the causal relationship, including intent to treat and treatment on the treated analyses. Taken together, these analyses provide stronger evidence than previous studies that social capital improves children’s behavioral outcomes and that these improvements are not simply a result of selection into social relations but result from the social relations themselves. PMID:27886729

HIV Stigma and Social Capital in Women Living With HIV.

PubMed

Cuca, Yvette P; Asher, Alice; Okonsky, Jennifer; Kaihura, Alphoncina; Dawson-Rose, Carol; Webel, Allison

Women living with HIV (WLWH) continue to experience HIV-related stigma. Social capital is one resource that could mitigate HIV stigma. Our cross-sectional study examined associations between social capital and HIV-related stigma in 135 WLWH in the San Francisco Bay Area. The mean age of study participants was 48 years; 60% were African American; 29% had less than a high school education; and 19% were employed. Age was significantly associated with perceived HIV stigma (p = .001), but total social capital was not. Women with lower Value of Life social capital scores had significantly higher total stigma scores (p = .010) and higher Negative Self-image stigma scores (p = .001). Women who felt less valued in their social worlds may have been more likely to perceive HIV stigma, which could have negative health consequences. This work begins to elucidate the possible relationships between social capital and perceived HIV stigma. Copyright © 2016 Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Roles of Extension Officers to Promote Social Capital in Japanese Agricultural Communities

PubMed Central

Takemura, Kosuke; Uchida, Yukiko; Yoshikawa, Sakiko

2014-01-01

Social capital has been found to be correlated with community welfare, but it is not easy to build and maintain it. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the role of professional coordinators of social relationships to create and maintain social capital in a community. We focused on extension officers in Japanese agricultural communities, who help farmers in both technical and social matters. A large nation-wide survey of extension officers as well as two supplementary surveys were conducted. We found that (1) social capital-related activities (e.g., assistance for building organizations among farmers) were particularly effective for solving problems; (2) social capital (trust relationships) among community residents increased their life quality; (3) social capital in local communities was correlated with extension officers' own communication skills and harmonious relationships among their colleagues. In sum, social capital in local communities is maintained by coordinators with professional social skills. PMID:24642575

Neighborhood social capital and adult health: an empirical test of a Bourdieu-based model.

PubMed

Carpiano, Richard M

2007-09-01

Drawing upon Bourdieu's [1986. The forms of capital. In: Richardson, J.G. (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. Greenwood, New York, pp. 241-258.] social capital theory, I test a conceptual model of neighborhood conditions and social capital - considering relationships between neighborhood social capital forms (social support, social leverage, informal social control, and neighborhood organization participation) and adult health behaviors (smoking, binge drinking) and perceived health, as well as interactions between neighborhood social capital and individuals' access to that social capital. Analyzing Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey data linked with tract level census data, results suggest that specific social capital forms were directly associated with both positive and negative health outcomes. Additionally, residents' neighborhood attachment moderated relationships between various social capital forms and health. Future studies should consider social capital resources and the role of differential access to such resources for promoting or compromising health.

Socioeconomic Contributions of Adult Learning to Community: A Social Capital Perspective. CRLRA Discussion Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balatti, Jo; Falk, Ian

The socioeconomic contributions of adult learning to community were examined from a social capital perspective. The concepts of human capital and social capital were differentiated, and the relationship between learning, human capital, and social capital was explored. The relevance of social capital in describing the wider benefits of adult…

The impacts of community social capital on the life satisfaction of older adults in Hong Kong: the moderator role of intergenerational family capital.

PubMed

Lu, Nan; Lum, Terry Y S; Lou, Vivian W Q

2016-11-01

This study examined the moderator role of intergenerational family capital on the relationship between community social capital and life satisfaction of older Chinese adults. The data were derived from a quota sampling of 372 older adults aged 60 and above, who were interviewed at four districts in Hong Kong in 2011. Multiple group analysis was employed to examine the proposed model. For the low family capital group, community social capital was found to be a significant predictor of life satisfaction, even when the well-known covariates were controlled. However, the association between community social capital and life satisfaction was statistically non-significant among the high family capital group. The findings highlighted the interplay between community social capital and intergenerational family capital, which supported community social capital replacement theory in understanding the mechanism linking social capital to life satisfaction in older age in a Chinese context. Community social capital can play a compensatory role in maintaining the mental health of older people. It is particularly important for older adults who lack family support and/or suffer from social isolation and loneliness in local communities.

Workplace social capital and mental health: a cross-sectional study among Iranian workers.

PubMed

Firouzbakht, Mojgan; Tirgar, Aram; Oksanen, Tuula; Kawachi, Ichiro; Hajian-Tilaki, Karimollah; Nikpour, Maryam; Mouodi, Susan; Sadeghian, Reza

2018-06-26

The psychosocial environment of the workplace has received less attention in terms of occupational health. Trust, social network and social cohesion at the workplace (that is, factors related to social capital) may have effects on employee health. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the association between workplace social capital and mental health among Iranian workers. In this cross-sectional study, data were obtained from 5 factories in Babol, Northern Iran, in 2016, where 280 workers responded to a survey on social capital at work and psychosocial distress. Approximately 23.6% of the workers had psychological distress, and 23.4% had low social capital in the workplace. There was a significant relationship between mental health and individual workplace social capital (p = 0.025) and aggregated workplace social capital (p = 0.027). After controlling for each individual's characteristics, the prevalence ratio of psychological distress was 2.11 (95% CI: 1.43-3.17) times higher among workers with low individual social capital, and low aggregated workplace social capital was associated with 2.64 (95% CI: 1.28-5.45) times higher odds of psychological distress. Higher social capital is associated with a reduced risk of psychological distress. The promotion of social capital can be considered as a means to increase workplace mental health among workers.

A concept analysis of social capital within a health context.

PubMed

Hsieh, Ching-Hsing

2008-01-01

This paper aims to clarify the concept of social capital within a health context using Rodgers's (2000) Evolutionary Method. Published literature. The analysis demonstrates that social capital is the intangible assets, including trust, networks, and social norms of reciprocity, possessed by a society within a specific culture. When a unit (individual or a family) increases its sense of community or quality of community participation, this could increase its social capital. The result of this analysis provides a guide for further conceptual and empirical research and clinical practice.

A Comparative Study of Family Social Capital and Literacy Practices in Singapore

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ren, Li; Hu, Guangwei

2013-01-01

Social capital--the social relations between people--is an important component of the family environment and is crucial for the creation of human capital for the next generation. Drawing on James S. Coleman's theory of family capital, this study focuses on parents' utilization of social capital to support children's literacy acquisition in four…

Using and improving social capital to increase community preparedness for wildfire

Treesearch

Shruti Agrawal; Martha C. Monroe

2006-01-01

Communities with more social capital are better able to work together to cope with problems such as a wildfire threat. This study found a positive relationship between perceiving greater social capital and participating in wildfire preparedness educational programs. Results suggest that managers can take advantage of existing social capital in communities to improve...

Contextualising the social capital of Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal men in prison.

PubMed

Lafferty, Lise; Treloar, Carla; Chambers, Georgina M; Butler, Tony; Guthrie, Jill

2016-10-01

Social capital is a valuable resource that has received little attention in the prison context. Differences in the construct and accessibility of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital exist for Aboriginal Australians in mainstream society, but were previously unexplored in prison. This study seeks to understand contextual differences of social capital for Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal men in prison. Thirty male inmates participated in qualitative interviews across three New South Wales (NSW) correctional centres. Interviews were completed between November 2014 and March 2015. Experiences of bonding and linking social capital varied among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal participants. Opportunities for bridging social capital were limited for all participants. There is greater scope for building bonding social capital among male inmates than either bridging or linking social capital. Bonding social capital, particularly among Aboriginal men in prison, should be utilised to promote health and other programs to inmates. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Children who prosper in unfavorable environments: the relationship to social capital.

PubMed

Runyan, D K; Hunter, W M; Socolar, R R; Amaya-Jackson, L; English, D; Landsverk, J; Dubowitz, H; Browne, D H; Bangdiwala, S I; Mathew, R M

1998-01-01

Social capital describes the benefits that are derived from personal social relationships (within families and communities) and social affiliations. This investigation examined the extent to which social capital is associated with positive developmental and behavioral outcomes in high-risk preschool children. A cross-sectional case-control analysis of young children "doing well" and "not doing well" at baseline in four coordinated longitudinal studies. A total of 667 2- to 5-year-old children (mean age, 4.4 years) and their maternal caregivers who are participating in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect Consortium. At recruitment, all children were characterized by unfavorable social or economic circumstances that contributed to the identification of the children as high risk. Social capital was defined as benefits that accrue from social relationships within communities and families. A social capital index was created by assigning one point to each of the following indicators: 1) two parents or parent-figures in the home; 2) social support of the maternal caregiver; 3) no more than two children in the family; 4) neighborhood support; and 5) regular church attendance. Outcomes were measured with the Child Behavior Checklist, a widely used measure of behavioral/emotional problems, and with the Battelle Developmental Inventory Screening Test, a standardized test that identifies developmental deficits. Children were classified as doing well if their scores on these instruments indicated neither behavioral nor developmental problems. Only 13% of the children were classified as doing well. The individual indicators that best discriminated between levels of child functioning were the most direct measures of social capital-church affiliation, perception of personal social support, and support within the neighborhood. The social capital index was strongly associated with child well-being, more so than any single indicator. The presence of any social capital

Increasing Returns to Education and the Impact on Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leeves, Gareth D.

2014-01-01

The returns to education have been increasing. It is suggested that high-skilled workers' social capital investment has been adversely affected by the increasing incentives to devote human capital to career development. Lower social capital is linked to reduced economic growth and innovation and higher transaction costs and is detrimental to…

Effects of Health Literacy and Social Capital on Health Information Behavior.

PubMed

Kim, Yong-Chan; Lim, Ji Young; Park, Keeho

2015-01-01

This study aimed to examine whether social capital (bonding and bridging social capital) attenuate the effect of low functional health literacy on health information resources, efficacy, and behaviors. In-person interviews were conducted with 1,000 residents in Seoul, Korea, in 2011. The authors found that respondents' functional health literacy had positive effects on the scope of health information sources and health information self-efficacy but not health information-seeking intention. Respondents' social capital had positive effects on the scope of health information sources, health information efficacy, and health information-seeking intention. The authors found (a) a significant moderation effect of bridging social capital on the relation between health literacy and health information self-efficacy and (b) a moderation effect of bonding social capital on the relation between health literacy and health information-seeking intention.

Exploring the role of social capital in supporting a regional medical education campus.

PubMed

Toomey, Patricia; Hanlon, Neil; Bates, Joanna; Poole, Gary; Lovato, Chris Y

2011-01-01

To help address physician shortages in the underserved community of Prince George, Canada, the University of British Columbia (UBC) and various partners created the Northern Medical Program (NMP), a regional distributed site of UBC's medical doctor undergraduate program. Early research on the impacts of the NMP revealed a high degree of social connectedness. The objective of the present study was to explore the role of social capital in supporting the regional training site and the benefits accrued to a broad range of stakeholders and network partners. In this qualitative study, 23 semi-structured interviews were conducted with community leaders in 2007. A descriptive content analysis based on analytic induction technique was employed. Carpiano's Bourdieu-based framework of 'neighbourhood' social capital was adapted to empirically describe how social capital was produced and mobilized within and among networks during the planning and implementation of the NMP. Results from this study reveal that the operation of social capital and the related concept of social cohesion are multifaceted, and that benefits extend in many directions, resulting in somewhat unanticipated benefits for other key stakeholders and network partners of this medical education program. Participants described four aspects of social capital: (i) social cohesion; (ii) social capital resources; (iii) access to social capital; and (iv) outcomes of social capital. The findings of this study suggest that the partnerships and networks formed in the NMP planning and implementation phases were the foundation for social capital mobilization. The use of Carpiano's spatially-bounded model of social capital was useful in this context because it permitted the characterization of relations and networks of a tight-knit community body. The students, faculty and administrators of the NMP have benefitted greatly from access to the social capital mobilized to make the NMP operational. Taking account of the dynamic

Deconstructing the Transfer Student Capital: Intersect between Cultural and Social Capital among Female Transfer Students in STEM Fields

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Starobin, Soko S.; Smith, Dimitra Jackson; Laanan, Frankie Santos

2016-01-01

This qualitative study explored the experiences of female transfer students majoring in STEM areas at a midwestern university by highlighting the role of Transfer Student Capital in their academic and social adjustment. The authors further deconstructed the notion of Transfer Student Capital by looking at how cultural and social capital intersect…

Social capital and stigma toward people with mental illness in Tokyo, Japan.

PubMed

Kido, Yoshifumi; Kawakami, Norito; Miyamoto, Yuki; Chiba, Rie; Tsuchiya, Masao

2013-04-01

Living in a community with high social capital might lead to lower stigma towards people with mental illness. We examined the association between social capital and stigma toward people with mental illness in the community of Tokyo, Japan. A random sample of 2,000 community residents was selected and surveyed. Data from 516 respondents were analyzed. In this study, two individual-based social capital variables were significantly and negatively associated with the stigma score, while area-based social capital was not significantly associated with the stigma score. Social capital, particularly reciprocity/norm of cooperation and trust in the community, may be associated with lower stigma.

Social capital, social relationships and adults with acquired visual impairment: a nigerian perspective.

PubMed

Bassey, Emmanuel; Ellison, Caroline; Walker, Ruth

2018-01-31

This study investigates the social capital implications of vision loss among working-age adults in Nigeria. The study explores the challenges of acquiring and maintaining social relationships post-vision loss, and investigates the extent to which visual rehabilitation services support social goals. A qualitative study using a phenomenological approach was undertaken. Eight adults (18-59 years) were recruited from disability service organizations in Nigeria. Telephone interviews were recorded and transcribed, and thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data gathered in this study. Three broad themes were developed from participants' accounts of their experiences: (1) changes to relationships with friends and others; (2) finding strength in family relationships; and (3) rehabilitation and the confidence to interact. The findings indicate that the relationship between participants and their family members improved post vision impairment, enhancing bonding social capital. However, participants experienced reduced bridging and linking social capital due to diminished or broken relationships with managers, coworkers, friends, and others in the community. As social connectedness and relationships are highly valued in Nigeria's diverse society, we suggest that adults with visual impairment would significantly benefit from visual rehabilitation services placing greater emphasis on addressing the social goals of participants. Implications for Rehabilitation Visual impairment in working-age adults can strengthen family relationships (homogenous groups), creating bonding capital that is associated with access to important resources including emotional and moral support, and some financial and material resources. Visual impairment can negatively impact relationships with managers, coworkers, and others in the community (heterogeneous groups), resulting in diminished bridging and linking capital. Visual impairment can reduce access to resources such as an income

Piketty's capital and social policy.

PubMed

Piachaud, David

2014-12-01

Piketty's Capital (2014) primarily describes and analyses changes in the distribution of wealth and annual incomes. This paper focuses on his policy proposals that make up Part Four of the book. Piketty defends the 'social state' but he discusses it largely in terms of distribution and redistribution between tax units. This neglects the important role of social policy in promoting recognition and redistribution of income and opportunities that is related to gender, race, disability and sexual orientation. Nor does Piketty consider inequalities in health which effect life-time incomes, nor the impact of housing policies on house prices and the distribution of wealth. It is argued that Piketty's approach to social security is simplistic and plays down the complexity of competing policy goals. On taxation, Piketty defends progressive taxation and proposes a global capital levy. The latter proposal runs into formidable problems in seeking global taxation in a world of nation states. Rather than seeking a policy that is, for the foreseeable future, wholly politically impractical, a case is made for less idealistic but more practical and urgent tax coordination between nations to address the widespread avoidance of taxation that large corporations and the very wealthy are now permitted - taxation on which the future of the social state depends. The importance of human and social capital, which are largely set aside by Piketty, are discussed. Finally,it is argued that his approach to policy is to describe trends and propose amelioration of growing inequality rather than to identify causes of the trends and propose policies that might address the causes. Nevertheless, the importance of his work in bringing issues of inequality to the fore, especially among economists, is recognized and applauded. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2014.

Social Capital and Education: Implications for Student and School Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plagens, Gregory K.

2011-01-01

Scholarly work on student and school performance poses a variety of explanations for observed variations. One explanation receiving too little attention is social capital, an intangible resource argued to grow out of social relations and social structure. The seedbed of social capital is argued to reside with John Dewey, who in 1900 used the term…

Social capital and adverse treatment outcomes of tuberculosis: a case-control study.

PubMed

Deshmukh, P R; Mundra, A; Dawale, A

2017-08-01

'Social capital' refers to social norms, relationships, networks and values that affect the functioning and development of society. Social capital influences health positively, but its role in the treatment outcomes of tuberculosis (TB) is not known. To study the role of social capital in determining adverse TB treatment outcomes. Of 516 patients registered under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme in 2014 in Wardha Tuberculosis Unit, Wardha, India, we included 88 patients with adverse treatment outcomes as cases and 187 controls from among those without adverse outcomes. Multiple logistic regression was used to compare standardised Z-scores. A greater proportion of controls than cases belonged to higher quartiles of social capital and its domains than cases, and the mean standardised Z-score was also consistently higher among controls than cases. Respectively 47% and 15% of cases and controls were in the poorest quartile of social capital, whereas respectively 10% and 33% of cases and controls were in the richest quartile. Each unit increase in Z-score of overall social capital reduced the odds of adverse treatment outcomes by 63.1%. Appropriate interventions for building social capital for TB patients and linking them with the programme would improve programme performance.

Social Networks in the Classroom: Personality Factors as Antecedents of Student Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seevers, Matthew T.; Johnson, Bryan R.; Darnold, Todd C.

2015-01-01

This study examines personality factors as antecedents of student social capital. We hypothesize relationships between two constructs taken from the five-factor model of personality (agreeableness and extraversion) and two variables that reflect a student's social capital (quantity of ties and strength of ties) in an academic setting. Analysis of…

Social capital, mortality, cardiovascular events and cancer: a systematic review of prospective studies.

PubMed

Choi, Minkyoung; Mesa-Frias, Marco; Nuesch, Eveline; Hargreaves, James; Prieto-Merino, David; Bowling, Ann; Snith, G Davey; Ebrahim, Shah; Dale, Caroline; Casas, Juan P

2014-12-01

Social capital is considered to be an important determinant of life expectancy and cardiovascular health. Evidence on the association between social capital and all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer was systematically reviewed. Prospective studies examining the association of social capital with these outcomes were systematically sought in Medline, Embase and PsycInfo, all from inception to 8 October 2012. We categorized the findings from studies according to seven dimensions of social capital, including social participation, social network, civic participation,social support, trust, norm of reciprocity and sense of community, and pooled the estimates across studies to obtain summary relative risks of the health outcomes for each social capital dimension. We excluded studies focusing on children, refugees or immigrants and studies conducted in the former Soviet Union. Fourteen prospective studies were identified. The pooled estimates showed no association between most social capital dimensions and all-cause mortality, CVD or cancer. Limited evidence was found for association of increased mortality with social participation and civic participation when comparing the most extreme risk comparisons. Evidence to support an association between social capital and health outcomes is limited. Lack of consensus on measurements for social capital hinders the comparability of studies and weakens the evidence base.

Neighborhood settings, types of social capital and depression among immigrants in Toronto.

PubMed

Daoud, Nihaya; Haque, Nasim; Gao, Meiyin; Nisenbaum, Rosane; Muntaner, Carles; O'Campo, Patricia

2016-04-01

Few studies consider the associations between neighborhood social capital and immigrant's mental health. We examined associations between bonding, bridging and linking social capital and depression among immigrants in Toronto neighborhoods. We used data on immigrants from the neighborhood effects on health and well-being (NEHW) study, conducted in 47 randomly selected greater Toronto area neighborhoods (sample = 916), and a study of one low-income, immigrant receiving neighborhood (IRN) (sample = 600). We conducted logistic regression models for depression (Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, CES-D) and social capital types: bonding (social cohesion and informal social control), bridging (group membership) and linking (engagement in political activities), while adjusting for different covariates. The prevalence of depression was 22.9 % in IRN and 21.4 % in NEHW. The associations between social capital types and depression differed in each sample. Lower social cohesion (bonding) was associated with higher depression in NEHW only. Lower linking social capital (never participated in political activities) was associated with lower depression in IRN only. These associations were consistent after adjustment for different covariates. Results suggest that social cohesion might have a protective effect from depression among immigrants in NEHW. In IRN, lower linking social capital associated with lower depression might reflect opposite direction association. Bridging social capital was not associated with depression in either sample, indicating that current community building might be insufficient to impact depression. Different pathways might explain how depression among immigrants is impacted by social capital types operating in different neighborhood settings; this could be examined in future longitudinal studies.

Social capital among migrating doctors: the "bridge" over troubled water.

PubMed

Terry, Daniel R; Quynh, Lê

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of social capital among International Medical Graduates (IMGs). It will specifically examine bridging social capital and greater intercultural communication which provides IMGs access to the wider community and plays a key role in cross-cultural adaptation and acculturation. A review of the literature. An Australian wide shortage of doctors has led to an increased reliance on the recruitment of IMGs. As IMGs migrate, they may encounter different meanings of illness, models of care and a number of social challenges. Nevertheless, greater cross-cultural adaptation and acculturation occurs through bridging social capital, where intercultural communication, new social networks and identity aids integration. This process produces more opportunities for economic capital growth and upward mobility than bonding social capital. Concerns regarding immigration, appropriate support and on-going examination processes have been expressed by IMGs in a number of studies and policy papers. However, there is very little insight into what contributes cross-cultural adaptation of IMGs. As IMGs migrate to not only a new country, but also a new health system and workplace they arrive with different cultural meanings of illness and models of care. These differences may be in contrast to the dominant western medical model, but often bring positive contributions to patient care in the new environment. In addition, improving bridging social capital provides IMGs access to the wider community and has been demonstrated to play a key role in cross-cultural adaptation and ultimately acculturation.

Toward a social capital based framework for understanding the water-health nexus.

PubMed

Bisung, Elijah; Elliott, Susan J

2014-05-01

In recent years, there has been considerable interest in social capital theory in both research and policy arenas. Social capital has been associated with many aspects of improvements in health, environment and development. This paper assesses the theoretical support for a social capital based analysis of environment and health issues with a focus on the water-health nexus in low and middle income countries. We review conceptualisation of social capital by Pierre Bourdieu in relation to his concepts of "fields" and "habitus" as well as other conceptualisations of social capital by James Coleman and Robert Putnam. We integrate these authors' ideas with ecosocial analysis of social and geographical patterns of access to safe water, adequate sanitation and hygiene and the resulting health impacts. Further, we develop a conceptual framework for linking social capital and health through the water-health nexus. The framework focuses on the role of social capital in improving water-related knowledge, attitudes and practices as well as facilitating collective action towards improving access to water and sanitation. The proposed framework will facilitate critical engagement with the pathways through which social processes and interactions influence health within the context of access to water, sanitation and hygiene in low and middle income countries. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social capital and antenatal depression among Chinese primiparas: A cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

Zhou, Chi; Ogihara, Atsushi; Chen, Hao; Wang, Weijue; Huang, Liu; Zhang, Baodan; Zhang, Xueni; Xu, Liangwen; Yang, Lei

2017-11-01

The aim of this study is to investigate the associations between social capital and antenatal depression among Chinese primiparas. A cross-sectional design was used and a questionnaire survey was conducted with 1471 participants using the intercept method at the provincial hospital in Zhejiang in 2016. Antenatal depression was evaluated using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and social capital was assessed by the Chinese version of Social Capital Assessment Questionnaire (C-SCAQ). The prevalence of antenatal depression was assessed among Chinese primiparas in their third trimesters. The antenatal depression prevalence among sub-groups with lower social trust (ST), social reciprocity (SR), social network (SN), and social participation (SP) were significantly higher than those among higher score sub-groups. In the fully adjusted model, primiparas' antenatal depression was significantly associated with ST, SR, SN, and SP. Compared to the structural social capital, the cognitive social capital was a more crucial dimension to the prevalence of antenatal depression. For future community pregnancy health care management programs in China, it might be beneficial to add more social capital related intervention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Problem Behaviors of Homeless Youth: A Social Capital Perspective

PubMed Central

Bantchevska, Denitza; Bartle-Haring, Suzanne; Dashora, Pushpanjali; Glebova, Tatiana; Slesnick, Natasha

2008-01-01

Homeless youth are one of the most marginalized groups in our society. Many researchers identify much higher levels of various problem behaviors among these youth compared to their non-homeless peers. The current study examined the utility of social capital in predicting problem behaviors among homeless youth. Overall, the theoretically derived social capital variable significantly predicted substance use frequency, sexual risk behavior, depression, delinquent behavior as well as number of days homeless. Thus, social capital was useful in understanding and predicting the current life situation among these youth and may be worthy of further study. Findings suggest that meaningful change should utilize interventions that go beyond the individual and are geared towards modifying the social context of individuals’ lives. PMID:18787647

Changes in social capital and depressive states of middle-aged adults in Japan.

PubMed

Nakamine, Shin; Tachikawa, Hirokazu; Aiba, Miyuki; Takahashi, Sho; Noguchi, Haruko; Takahashi, Hideto; Tamiya, Nanako

2017-01-01

The present study examines the relationships between changes in bonding and bridging types of social capital and depressive states among middle-aged adults in Japan using a nationally representative sample. Data was collected from a nationwide, population-based survey conducted from 2005 to 2013 in nine annual waves. A total of 16,737 middle-aged men and 17,768 middle-aged women provided data. They reported about depressive states, measured by Kessler 6 scores, and bonding and bridging types of social capital, measured by reported participation in different social activities. Latent growth modeling was conducted to examine relations between changes in bonding and bridging types of social capital and depressive states within individuals across the nine waves. The results showed that, for both men and women, increases in bonding social capital were associated with decreases in depressive states, while changes in bridging social capital were not related to changes in depressive states. In addition, the results showed that changes in bonding social capital, but not bonding social capital at the baseline, affected changes in depressive states. Future studies should take changes in social capital as an independent variable into consideration.

Changes in social capital and depressive states of middle-aged adults in Japan

PubMed Central

Tachikawa, Hirokazu; Aiba, Miyuki; Takahashi, Sho; Noguchi, Haruko; Takahashi, Hideto; Tamiya, Nanako

2017-01-01

The present study examines the relationships between changes in bonding and bridging types of social capital and depressive states among middle-aged adults in Japan using a nationally representative sample. Data was collected from a nationwide, population-based survey conducted from 2005 to 2013 in nine annual waves. A total of 16,737 middle-aged men and 17,768 middle-aged women provided data. They reported about depressive states, measured by Kessler 6 scores, and bonding and bridging types of social capital, measured by reported participation in different social activities. Latent growth modeling was conducted to examine relations between changes in bonding and bridging types of social capital and depressive states within individuals across the nine waves. The results showed that, for both men and women, increases in bonding social capital were associated with decreases in depressive states, while changes in bridging social capital were not related to changes in depressive states. In addition, the results showed that changes in bonding social capital, but not bonding social capital at the baseline, affected changes in depressive states. Future studies should take changes in social capital as an independent variable into consideration. PMID:29216253

Social Capital: Similarities and Differences between Future Educators and Urban Youth Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearrow, Melissa M.; Zoino-Jeannetti, Julia; Minami, Takuya

2016-01-01

This study examines differences in social capital between two demographically disparate groups: future education professionals and youth leaders living in urban communities. This is important because there is growing scholarly evidence of a positive relationship between social capital and student achievement. "Social capital," defined as…

Social capital, friendship networks, and youth unemployment.

PubMed

Hällsten, Martin; Edling, Christofer; Rydgren, Jens

2017-01-01

Youth unemployment is a contemporary social problem in many societies. Youths often have limited access to information about jobs and limited social influence, yet little is known about the relationship between social capital and unemployment risk among youth. We study the effect of social capital on unemployment risk in a sample of 19 year olds of Swedish, Iranian, and Yugoslavian origin living in Sweden (N = 1590). We distinguish between two dimensions of social capital: occupational contact networks and friendship networks. First, ego's unemployment is found to be strongly associated with friends' unemployment among individuals of Yugoslavian origins and individuals of Swedish origin, but not Iranian origin. Second, occupational contact networks reduce unemployment risks for all groups, but especially so for Iranians. The effect sizes of the two dimensions are similar and substantial: going from low to high values on these measures is associated with a difference of some 60-70 percent relative difference in unemployment risk. The findings are robust to a number of different model specifications, including a rich set of social origin controls, personality traits, educational performance, friends' characteristics, and friendship network characteristics, as well as controls for geographical employment patterns. A sensitivity simulation shows that homogeneity bias need to be very strong to explain away the effect. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Leveraging Social Capital of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities through Participation on Facebook.

PubMed

Shpigelman, Carmit-Noa

2018-01-01

Participation in social networking sites has considerable potential to leverage the individual's social capital, including persons with intellectual disabilities, whose real-world social networks are fairly limited. This study aimed to understand how individuals with intellectual disabilities use Facebook to access social capital benefits, if at all. Qualitative interviews and observations were conducted with 20 adult Facebook users with intellectual disabilities. The online participation enhanced their bonding social capital as well as contributed to their psychological well-being through increasing their online visibility, popularity and sense of belonging. At the same time, they experienced stress and frustration due to usage difficulties, which prevented them from enhancing their bridging social capital. Participation in social networking sites may also leverage bridging social capital of persons with intellectual disabilities, but they need a more accessible platform and ongoing support to ensure safe and fruitful participation. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Social Identity, Social Ties and Social Capital: A Study in Gaming Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiang, Hao

2012-01-01

This work will focus on how different social relationships, namely shared identity and personal tie, will impact cooperative behavior, a form of social capital. I designed and conducted an economic game study to show that shared identity and personal ties work differently on cooperation among people and resource flow in social groups. Many factors…

Social Capital and Casino Gambling in U.S. Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tabor Griswold, Mary; Nichols, Mark W.

2006-01-01

This paper empirically analyzes the impact that the spread of casino gambling has on social capital in communities throughout the United States. Social capital is a networking process that translates into an individual's effectiveness in the community and workplace, and binds communities together. Several recent studies have also demonstrated a…

Social capital through workplace connections: opportunities for workers with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Hall, Allison Cohen; Kramer, John

2009-01-01

Using qualitative methods, this study examined the experiences of individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) in sheltered workshops and compared them to those in community employment. In particular, the study investigated how employment affects opportunities for the creation of social capital. Primary respondents were individuals with ID and secondary respondents were family members and employment services staff. Findings revealed that a form of social capital was created through workplace connections. Community employment did not increase social capital per se, but it did produce opportunities not available in the workshop. The role of family members emerged as critical in the support of community employment and its potential for social capital development.

[The importance of neighborhood social cohesion and social capital for the well being of older adults in the community].

PubMed

Cramm, J M; van Dijk, H M; Nieboer, A P

2013-04-01

We aimed to investigate whether social capital (obtaining support through indirect ties such as from neighbors) and social cohesion (interdependencies among neighbors) within neighborhoods positively affect the well-being of older adults. This cross-sectional study included 945/1440 (66 % response rate) independently living older adults (aged >70 years) in Rotterdam. We fitted a hierarchical random-effects model to account for the hierarchical structure of the study design: 945 older adults (level 1) nested in 72 neighborhoods (level 2). Univariate analyses showed that being born in the Netherlands, house ownership, education, income, social capital of individuals, neighborhood security, neighborhood services, neighborhood social capital, and neighborhood social cohesion were significantly related to the well-being of older adults. Multilevel analyses showed that social capital of individuals, neighborhood services, neighborhood social capital, and neighborhood social cohesion predicted the well-being of older adults. Single and poor older adults reported lower well-being than did better-off and married older adults. However, the effects of marital status and income were mediated by neighborhood services, social capital, and social cohesion. Neighborhood services, social capital and social cohesion may act as buffer against the adverse effects of being single and poor on the well-being of older adults. The results of this study support the importance of social capital of individuals, as well as social capital within the neighborhood and social cohesion within the neighborhood for well-being of older adults. The well-being of older adults may also be enhanced through the improvement of quality of neighborhood services.

The importance of neighborhood social cohesion and social capital for the well being of older adults in the community.

PubMed

Cramm, Jane M; van Dijk, Hanna M; Nieboer, Anna P

2013-02-01

We aimed to investigate whether social capital (obtaining support through indirect ties such as from neighbors) and social cohesion (interdependencies among neighbors) within neighborhoods positively affect the well being of older adults. This cross-sectional study included 945 of 1,440 (66% response rate) independently living older adults (aged ≥70 years) in Rotterdam. We fitted a hierarchical random effects model to account for the hierarchical structure of the study design: 945 older adults (Level 1) nested in 72 neighborhoods (Level 2). Univariate analyses showed that being born in the Netherlands, house ownership, education, income, social capital of individuals, neighborhood security, neighborhood services, neighborhood social capital, and neighborhood social cohesion were significantly related to the well being of older adults. Multilevel analyses showed that social capital of individuals, neighborhood services, neighborhood social capital, and neighborhood social cohesion predicted the well being of older adults. Single and poor older adults reported lower well being than did better off and married older adults. However, the effects of marital status and income were mediated by neighborhood services, social capital, and social cohesion. Neighborhood services, social capital, and social cohesion may act as buffer against the adverse effects of being single and poor on the well being of older adults. The results of this study support the importance of social capital of individuals, as well as social capital within the neighborhood and social cohesion within the neighborhood for well being of older adults. The well being of older adults may also be enhanced through the improvement of quality of neighborhood services.

Social capital and child nutrition in India: The moderating role of development.

PubMed

Vikram, Kriti

2018-03-01

Empirical studies of social capital rarely take into account the socioeconomic context of the region in which it operates, indeed as most of this research has been located in high income countries. It is imperative to investigate how development may influence the impact of social capital, especially in developing countries. This paper examines the relationship between social capital and child nutrition using the India Human Development Survey, 2005-2006. Using a multilevel framework and a sample of 6770 rural children under the age of five, it finds that household based bridging social capital, expressed as connections with development based organizations, is positively associated with child nutrition. Bonding social capital, expressed as ties with caste and religious based organizations, has the opposite impact. At the village level, contextual measures of social capital are associated with nutritional status of children, but their influence is conditional on local development. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Capital, Social Control, and Changes in Victimization Rates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawdon, James; Ryan, John

2009-01-01

A neighborhood-level model of crime that connects the central dimensions of social capital with specific forms of social control is developed. The proposed model is tested using a structural equation model that predicts changes in empirical Bayes log odds of neighborhood victimization rates between 2000 and 2001 in 41 neighborhoods in South…

[Neighborhood environment quality, individual-level social capital, and depressive symptoms among adolescents].

PubMed

Asakura, Takashi

2011-09-01

We aimed to develop measures to assess features of neighborhood quality and individual social capital, as well as their associations with depressive symptoms among early adolescents. To determine whether relations of depressive symptoms with neighborhood quality might be contingent upon the level of individual cognitive social capital, neighborhood-by-cognitive social capital interaction terms were examined. A qualitative study was conducted to elicit the perceptions of early adolescents about their neighborhood environment. Subsequently, we recruited 2,002 eighth graders and asked for responses to a self-administered questionnaire. The variables analyzed in this study were the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (10 items), features of neighborhood quality, cognitive and structural individual social capital, and demographics. We adopted a generalized estimating equation regression model for the multivariate analysis. The analytic sample was 1,786 with no missing variable in the models. Seven subscales were devised to assess quality features of neighborhood environments with an examination of validity and reliability: "availability of services," "good neighborhood relations," "spaces for recreation," "insecurity and danger of accidents," "dirty-looking, squalid, unclean," "civic communities," and "aesthetic look." We also developed a scale of individual cognitive social capital, which consisted of three constructs: "social trust," "reciprocity," and "social norms." Additionally, the number of social activities in which subjects participated was counted as an indicator of the structural aspect of individual social capital. On examination with the generalized estimating equation regression model, "availability of services," "insecurity and danger of accidents," "dirty-looking, squalid, unclean," and cognitive social capital were significantly associated with the CES-D scores controlling for demographics. We also found a significant interplay between

Individual social capital, neighbourhood deprivation, and self-rated health in England.

PubMed

Verhaeghe, Pieter-Paul; Tampubolon, Gindo

2012-07-01

Individual social capital is increasingly considered to be an important determinant of an individual's health. This study examines the extent to which individual social capital is associated with self-rated health and the extent to which individual social capital mediates t.he relationship between neighbourhood deprivation and self-rated health in an English sample. Individual social capital was conceptualized and operationalized in both the social cohesion- and network resource tradition, using measures of generalized trust, social participation and social network resources. Network resources were measured with the position generator. Multilevel analyses were applied to wave 2 and 3 of the Taking Part Surveys of England, which consist of face-to-face interviews among the adult population in England (N(i) = 25,366 respondents, N(j) = 12,388 neighbourhoods). The results indicate that generalized trust, participation with friends and relatives and having network members from the salariat class are positively associated with self-rated health. Having network members from the working class is, however, negatively related to self-rated health. Moreover, these social capital elements are partly mediating the negative relationship between neighbourhood deprivation and self-rated health. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using a social capital framework to enhance measurement of the nursing work environment.

PubMed

Sheingold, Brenda Helen; Sheingold, Steven H

2013-07-01

To develop, field test and analyse a social capital survey instrument for measuring the nursing work environment. The concept of social capital, which focuses on improving productive capacity by examining relationships and networks, may provide a promising framework to measure and evaluate the nurse work environment in a variety of settings. A survey instrument for measuring social capital in the nurse work environment was developed by adapting the World Bank's Social Capital - Integrated Questionnaire (SC-IQ). Exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analyses were applied to assess the properties of the instrument. The exploratory factor analysis yielded five factors that align well with the social capital framework, while reflecting unique aspects of the nurse work environment. The results suggest that the social capital framework provides a promising context to assess the nurse work environment. Further work is needed to refine the instrument for a diverse range of health-care providers and to correlate social capital measures with quality of patient care. Social capital measurement of the nurse work environment has the potential to provide managers with an enhanced set of tools for building productive capacity in health-care organisations and achieving desired outcomes. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Social Capital, Economic Development, and Homicide: A Cross-National Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robbins, Blaine; Pettinicchio, David

2012-01-01

This article draws from an ongoing debate over explanations of homicide. Within this debate, we investigate the pro-social effects of civil society and social capital. Few cross-national studies explore whether elements of social capital either increase or decrease homicide. The cross-national work that does is often characterized by small,…

Graduate Inquiry: Social Capital in Online Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mays, Thomas

2016-01-01

As colleges and universities increase their online course offerings, student social experiences in online learning environments require further examination, specifically for nonresidential students who may already be less integrated into college social networks. A social capital framework was used to guide this qualitative study of 17…

Social capital and social support on the web: the case of an internet mother site.

PubMed

Drentea, Patricia; Moren-Cross, Jennifer L

2005-11-01

Do virtual communities in cyberspace foster social capital and social support? Using participant observation and discourse analysis, we examine a mothering board on a parent's website and investigate whether social capital was present, and if so, how it was developed and used. We find three main types of communication emerge from our analysis: emotional support, instrumental support--both formal and informal, and community building/protection, all of which contribute to the creation and maintenance of social capital. Additionally, using sampling with replacement, we created a final data set of 180 mothers and report descriptive statistics to identify characteristics of those on the board.

Social capital and the course of depression: six-month prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Webber, Martin; Huxley, Peter; Harris, Tirril

2011-03-01

Previous research has found an inverse cross-sectional relationship between an individual's access to social capital (defined as resources embedded within social networks) and depression, but this relationship has not been rigorously tested in prospective research. This is the first longitudinal study to evaluate the effect of social capital on the course of depression and subjective quality of life in a clinical population. This was a six-month prospective cohort study of people with depression in primary care achieving a follow-up rate of 91.3% (n=158). Depression was measured with the HAD-D and social capital using the Resource Generator-UK. Potential confounding variables including socio-demographics, socio-economic status, depression history, social support, life events and attachment style were also measured. Social capital had no independent effect on the course of depression, though an interaction of access to social capital and attachment style was significantly related to change in quality of life alongside multiple covariates. The study used a small sample; a short follow-up period; no measure of ecological social capital; no genetic components; and only two time points. Emotional support is important for the alleviation of depression. Additionally, people with depression may require a secure attachment style to derive the full benefit of their social capital. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The impact of a health campaign on health social capital.

PubMed

Thorson, Esther; Beaudoin, Christopher E

2004-01-01

Referring to literature in sociology, mass communication, and public health, we conceptualize and operationally define "health social capital" and "individual health social capital" and then posit and test a model for its development in response to a public health media campaign. The campaign evaluated here was designed to stimulate behaviors that would provide a more supportive social environment for children and youth, an environment which we consider to be richer in aggregate health social capital. The association model of advertising was employed to explain the development of individual health social capital measures of awareness, attitude, and behavior. With cross-sectional data (1998, n = 614; 1999, n = 1087; 2000, n = 1388), we examine the results for changes in awareness, attitude, and behavior over time and the significant links between these dependent variables and media campaign exposure. The results show significant increases in awareness and attitude, but not in behavior. Structural equation modeling revealed different patterns of influence for newspaper and TV campaign exposure.

A social capital approach to the prevention of elder mistreatment.

PubMed

Donohue, William A; Dibble, Jayson L; Schiamberg, Lawrence B

2008-01-01

The current demographic landscape features an increasing number of elderly individuals in the care of some trusted other. Being cared for by a trusted other raises the potential for mistreatment of the elder by that trusted other. The goal of this paper is to explore the possibility of preventing elder mistreatment by increasing the bridging and bonding social capital available to caretakers. Attending to social capital lets researchers expand their focus toward areas rarely examined through current stress-outcome models (e.g., interpersonal interactions). First, elder mistreatment and social capital are defined and discussed. Then, a model is forwarded that details how social capital might mitigate the effects of caretaker stress and decrease the probability that caretakers will engage in elder mistreatment in both home and long-term care institutional settings. Finally, implications for future research and practical intervention are discussed.

Children's sense of belonging and parental social capital derived from school.

PubMed

Cheung, Chau-Kiu

2011-01-01

Parents' chance to seek help from other parents of schoolchildren attending the same school is an aspect of parental social capital. This social capital is supposed to contribute to schoolchildren's present sense of belonging to their school, society, and country. The relationship between social capital and a child's sense of belonging may vary as a function of the child's prior sense of belonging. Social capital may give a deeper encouragement or positive effect to children with higher prior sense of belonging (the strength building perspective) or to children with lower prior sense of belonging (the need fulfillment perspective). The author surveyed 289 parents and their schoolchildren in Grades 4-9 in Hong Kong, China, to ascertain which of the two perspectives holds. The results indicated that parental social capital was more highly associated with a child's present belongingness if his or her prior belongingness was high rather than low. This interaction effect is supportive of the strength building perspective.

Spatial Heterogeneity, Social Capital, and Rural Larceny and Burglary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deller, Steven; Deller, Melissa

2012-01-01

We explore the role of social capital in explaining patterns of rural larceny and burglary crime rates. We find consistent evidence that higher levels of social capital tend to be associated with lower levels of rural property crime rates. We also find that there is significant spatial heterogeneity in the underlying data-generating process. This…

Social capital, the miniaturisation of community and self-reported global and psychological health.

PubMed

Lindström, Martin

2004-08-01

Social capital is often operationalised as social participation in the activities of the formal and informal networks of civil society and/or as generalised trust. Social participation and trust are two aspects of social capital that mutually affect each other, according to the literature. In recent years there has been an increased attention to the fact that generalised trust decreases for every new birth cohort that reaches adulthood in the USA, while social participation may take new forms such as ideologically much narrower single-issue movements that do not enhance trust. The phenomenon has been called "the miniaturisation of community". The effects of similar patterns in Sweden on self-reported health and self-reported psychological health are analysed. The odds ratios of bad self-reported global health are highest in the low-social capital category (low-social participation/low trust), but the miniaturisation of community and low-social participation/high-trust categories also have significantly higher odds ratios than the high-social capital category (high-social participation/high trust). The odds ratios of bad self-reported psychological health are significantly higher in both the low-social capital category and the miniaturisation of community category compared to the high-social capital category, while the low-social participation/high-trust category does not differ from the high-social capital reference group. Copyright 2003 Elsevier Ltd.

Examination of the influence of social capital on depression in fragile families.

PubMed

Wilmot, Neil A; Dauner, Kim Nichols

2017-03-01

While it appears that social capital has a positive effect on mental health, most studies have been cross-sectional in nature and/or employ weak measures of social capital or mental health. Even less attention has been paid to vulnerable populations, such as low-income women with children. Thus, our objective was to explore how different dimensions of social capital impact depression in this population. We used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, which has followed a cohort of children born in large US cities to mostly minority, unmarried parents for over 9 years. These families tend to be at greater risk for falling into poverty. Four separate measures of social capital were constructed, using measures that are reliable and that offer evidence of validity including social support and trust, social participation, perceptions of neighbourhood social cohesion and perceptions of neighbourhood social control. The temporal effect of social capital on mental health, as measured by a standardised screening for depression was investigated using logistic regression. After controlling for relevant socioeconomic and demographic factors, prior depression, and prior self-rated health, the social capital dimensions of social support and trust and perceived neighbourhood social cohesion are significant predictors of depression. These results suggest that social and neighbourhood environments play an important role in mental health status. Intervention and policy initiatives that increase social capital may be viable for improving mental health among low-income urban, minority women. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The Impact of Community Bonding and Bridging Social Capital on Educational Performance in Israel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menahem, Gila

2011-01-01

The study examines two issues of the relationship between social capital and educational performance: the different effects of bridging and bonding social capital on urban educational performance and the contextual effects of social capital. The main argument states that bonding and bridging social capital are differently related to educational…

Social Capital and Health in a Digital Society

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharif, Behjat A.

2007-01-01

Quality of life is directly influenced by the quality of social relationships. Social capital, a reflection of the cohesiveness of social networks, is considered a significant determinant of health outcomes. Among social beings, lack of quality social connections correlates with poor health consequences. Membership in social networks and social…

Substance use capital: Social resources enhancing youth substance use.

PubMed

Baggio, S; Mohler-Kuo, M; Dupuis, M; Henchoz, Y; Studer, J; N'Goran, A A; Gmel, G

2016-09-01

Social capital is described as a protective factor against youth substance use, but it may also be associated with behaviours that do not enhance health. The present study hypothesized that 'substance use capital', i.e. resources favourable to substance use, is a risk factor for substance use and misuse. We used baseline data from the ongoing Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF) that included a representative sample of young Swiss men (n=5623). Substance use (alcohol, cannabis, 15 illicit drugs, lifetime use, hazardous use and dependence), substance use capital (parental and peer attitudes towards substance use, parental and peer drug use, perceived norms of substance use) and aspects of social capital (relationships with parents and peers) were assessed. Logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between substance-related resources and social resources, and substance use. Results showed that substance-related resources were associated with an increased risk of substance use (OR between 1.25 and 4.67), whereas social resources' associations with substance use were commonly protective but weaker than substance-related resources. Thus, a drug-friendly environment facilitated substance use and misuse. Moreover, the results showed that peer environments were more drug-friendly than familial environments. In conclusion, this study highlighted a concept of 'substance use capital', which may be useful for advancing both theoretical and applied knowledge of substance use. Indeed, substance use is not only associated with a lack of social resources, but also with specific drug-friendly social resources coming from environment and background. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Measures of indigenous social capital and their relationship with well-being.

PubMed

Biddle, Nicholas

2012-12-01

To provide the first estimates of a comprehensive measure of social capital for the Indigenous population and to link the indicators to well-being. Observational study-based. Household survey. Nationally representative sample of 7823 Indigenous Australians aged 15 years and over who were usual residents of private dwellings. Whether or not the respondent felt happy in the last 4 weeks all or most of the time (happiness), and whether or not they felt so sad that nothing could cheer them up at least a little bit of the time over the same period (sadness). There were no consistent differences in social capital measures between Indigenous men and women, nor were there consistent differences between the remote and non-remote population. High levels of social capital were, however, associated with higher subjective well-being. Social capital is both an indicator and determinant of well-being. It was possible to derive an index of social capital for Indigenous Australians that had a strong positive association with self-reported happiness and a negative association with self-reported sadness. However, the analysis also showed that there are a set of related domains of social capital, rather than there being a single underlying concept. © 2012 The Author. Australian Journal of Rural Health © National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

Bridging Social Capital and Individual Earnings: Evidence for an Inverted U.

PubMed

Growiec, Katarzyna; Growiec, Jakub

Based on data on a cross section of individuals surveyed in the 1999-2002 wave of World and European Values Surveys, we investigate the multilateral associations between bridging social capital, individuals' earnings, as well as social trust and employment status. Our analysis provides robust evidence that the relationship between bridging social capital and earnings is inverted-U shaped. We carry out a range of tests in order to ascertain that this result is not driven by regressor endogeneity or omitted variables bias. We also identify significant interaction effects between bridging social capital, social trust, and employment status.

Health by association? Social capital, social theory, and the political economy of public health.

PubMed

Szreter, Simon; Woolcock, Michael

2004-08-01

Three perspectives on the efficacy of social capital have been explored in the public health literature. A "social support" perspective argues that informal networks are central to objective and subjective welfare; an "inequality" thesis posits that widening economic disparities have eroded citizens' sense of social justice and inclusion, which in turn has led to heightened anxiety and compromised rising life expectancies; a "political economy" approach sees the primary determinant of poor health outcomes as the socially and politically mediated exclusion from material resources. A more comprehensive but grounded theory of social capital is presented that develops a distinction between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. It is argued that this framework helps to reconcile these three perspectives, incorporating a broader reading of history, politics, and the empirical evidence regarding the mechanisms connecting types of network structure and state-society relations to public health outcomes.

Social inequality in adolescents' healthy food intake: the interplay between economic, social and cultural capital.

PubMed

De Clercq, Bart; Abel, Thomas; Moor, Irene; Elgar, Frank J; Lievens, John; Sioen, Isabelle; Braeckman, Lutgart; Deforche, Benedicte

2017-04-01

Current explanations of health inequalities in adolescents focus on behavourial and economic determinants and rarely include more meaningful forms of economic, cultural, and social capital. The aim of the study was to investigate how the interplay between capitals constitutes social inequalities in adolescent healthy food intake. Data were collected in the 2013/14 Flemish Health Behavior among School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, which is part of the international WHO HBSC survey. The total sample included 7266 adolescents aged 12-18. A comprehensive set of 58 capital indicators was used to measure economic, cultural and social capital and a healthy food index was computed from a 17-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess the consumption frequency of healthy food within the overall food intake. The different forms of capital were unequally distributed in accordance with the subdivisions within the education system. Only half of the capital indicators positively related to healthy food intake, and instead 17 interactions were found that both increased or reduced inequalities. Cultural capital was a crucial component for explaining inequalities such that social gradients in healthy food intake increased when adolescents participated in elite cultural practices ( P < 0.05), and were consequently reduced when adolescents reported to have a high number of books at home ( P < 0.05). A combination of selected resources in the form of economic, cultural and social capital may both increase or reduce healthy food intake inequalities in adolescents. Policy action needs to take into account the unequal distribution of these resources within the education system. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Social capital and physical activity among Croatian high school students.

PubMed

Novak, D; Doubova, S V; Kawachi, I

2016-06-01

To examine factors associated with regular physical activity in Croatian adolescents. A cross-sectional survey among high school students was carried out in the 2013/14 school year. A survey was conducted among 33 high schools in Zagreb City, Croatia. Participants were students aged 17-18 years. The dependent variables were regular moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and overall physical activity measured by the short version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire and defined as 60 min or more of daily physical activity. The independent variables included family, neighborhood, and high school social capital. Other study covariates included: socio-economic status, self-rated health, psychological distress and nutritional status. The associations between physical activity and social capital variables were assessed separately for boys and girls through multiple logistic regression and inverse probability weighting in order to correct for missing data bias. A total of 1689 boys and 1739 girls responded to the survey. A higher percentage of boys reported performing regular vigorous and moderate physical activity (59.4%) and overall physical activity (83.4%), comparing with the girls (35.4% and 70%, respectively). For boys, high family social capital and high informal social control were associated with increased odds of regular MVPA (1.49, 95%CI: 1.18 - 1.90 and 1.26, 95%CI: 1.02 - 1.56, respectively), compared to those with low social capital. For girls, high informal social control was associated with regular overall physical activity (OR 1.38, 95% CI: 1.09 - 1.76). High social capital is associated with regular MVPA in boys and regular overall activity in girls. Intervention and policies that leverage community social capital might serve as an avenue for promotion of physical activity in youth. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Workplace social capital, mental health and health behaviors among Brazilian female workers.

PubMed

Pattussi, Marcos Pascoal; Olinto, Maria Teresa Anselmo; Canuto, Raquel; da Silva Garcez, Anderson; Paniz, Vera Maria Vieira; Kawachi, Ichiro

2016-09-01

Previous studies have investigated the relationship 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. 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 relationships between exposures, outcomes, and mediating variables. 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. Workplace social cohesion may play an important role in the promotion of mental health and healthy behaviors among women employees.

Perceptions of social capital and sexual behaviour among youth in South Africa.

PubMed

Odimegwu, Clifford; De Wet, Nicole; Somefun, Oluwaseyi Dolapo

2017-11-01

With about one quarter of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections occuring in young people, there is an on-going debate regarding the role of social capital on youth sexual behaviour. Some studies have suggested that high levels of family and community social capital may act as protective factors that lessen the likelihood of negative consequences; while others have concluded that social capital may be a risk factor for risky sexual behaviour among youth. Using data from the Third National Communications Survey (2012) conducted in South Africa, we examined the relationship between perceptions of social capital and youth sexual behaviour measured by age at first sex and condom use among 3 399 males and females (aged between 16 and 24 years). We assessed community perceptions of social capital with questions that measured trust, social participation, and support. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to predict the risk for early sexual debut. Logistic regression was used to predict the odds of condom use. There was no association between perceptions of social capital and youth sexual behaviour. This work reveals that youth sexual behaviour in South Africa may be influenced by socio-economic characteristics, especially at the individual level.

You have to be there to enjoy it? Neighbourhood social capital and health.

PubMed

Mohnen, Sigrid M; Völker, Beate; Flap, Henk; Subramanian, S V; Groenewegen, Peter P

2013-02-01

Several studies have shown the positive effect of neighbourhood social capital on health. Existing research, however, has hitherto not studied whether the duration and intensity of exposure to neighbourhood social capital conditions and its effect on health. The aim of this study was to examine whether neighbourhood social capital affects individual's health immediately and equally. We used two waves of the Dutch cross-sectional 'Housing and Living Survey'. One (from 2009) as individual data (n = 65,990), and the other (from 2006) to estimate with ecometric measurements a social capital measure for 3001 Dutch neighbourhoods. We assessed by means of multilevel regression models the combined effect of exposure and amount of neighbourhood social capital on self-rated health. Duration of exposure, measured by the length of stay in the same neighbourhood is not linearly associated with individual health. Health of people who live up to 6 years or >22 years in the same neighbourhood is not affected by neighbourhood social capital. People with young children in the household or elderly were assumed to be more intensively exposed. However, exposure intensity was only found to have an effect for households with young children. Duration and intensity of exposure to neighbourhood social capital, a social aspect of the environment, matters for people's health. Interventions focusing on the health of people with young children may want to stimulate the creation of neighbourhood social capital.

Social capital, collective efficacy and the provision of social support services and amenities by municipalities in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Waverijn, Geeke; Groenewegen, Peter P; de Klerk, Mirjam

2017-03-01

Differential provision of local services and amenities has been proposed as a mechanism behind the relationship between social capital and health. The aim of this study was to investigate whether social capital and collective efficacy are related to the provision of social support services and amenities in Dutch municipalities, against a background of decentralisation of long-term care to municipalities. We used data on neighbourhood social capital, collective efficacy (the extent to which people are willing to work for the common good), and the provision of services and amenities in 2012. We included the services municipalities provide to support informal caregivers (e.g. respite care), individual services and support (e.g. domiciliary help), and general and collective services and amenities (e.g. lending point for wheelchairs). Data for social capital were collected between May 2011 and September 2012. Social capital was measured by focusing on contacts between neighbours. A social capital measure was estimated for 414 municipalities with ecometric measurements. A measure of collective efficacy was constructed based on information about the experienced responsibility for the liveability of the neighbourhood by residents in 2012, average charity collection returns in municipalities in 2012, voter turnout at the municipal elections in 2010 and the percentage of blood donors in 2012. We conducted Poisson regression and negative binomial regression to test our hypotheses. We found no relationship between social capital and the provision of services and amenities in municipalities. We found an interaction effect (coefficient = 3.11, 95% CI = 0.72-5.51, P = 0.011) of social capital and collective efficacy on the provision of support services for informal caregivers in rural municipalities. To gain more insight in the relationship between social capital and health, it will be important to study the relationship between social capital and differential provision of

Social capital and core network ties: a validation study of individual-level social capital measures and their association with extra- and intra-neighborhood ties, and self-rated health.

PubMed

Moore, Spencer; Bockenholt, Ulf; Daniel, Mark; Frohlich, Katherine; Kestens, Yan; Richard, Lucie

2011-03-01

Research on social capital and health has assumed that measures of trust, participation, and perceived cohesion capture aspects of people's neighborhood social connections. This study uses data on the personal networks of 2707 Montreal adults in 300 different neighborhoods to examine the association of socio-demographic and social capital variables with the likelihood of having core ties, core neighborhood ties, and high self-rated health (SRH). Persons with higher household income were more likely to have core ties, but less likely to have core neighborhood ties. Persons with greater diversity in extra-neighborhood network capital were more likely to have core ties, and persons with greater diversity in intra-neighborhood network capital were more likely to have core neighborhood ties. Generalized trust, perceived neighborhood cohesion, and extra-neighborhood network diversity were shown associated with high SRH. Conventional measures of social capital may not capture network mechanisms. Findings suggest a critical appraisal of the mechanisms linking social capital and health, and the further delineation of network and psychosocial mechanisms in understanding these links. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An examination of social capital and social disorganisation in neighbourhoods in the British household panel study.

PubMed

McCulloch, Andrew

2003-04-01

Recent developments in social science research suggest that social environmental factors may be important for explaining community variations in health. We investigate the structural sources of two mechanisms that produce community variations in health. Using survey data collected from a representative cross-section of British households we examine variations in neighbourhood social capital and neighbourhood social disorganisation across a sample of British neighbourhoods. Adjusting for respondent's attributes, we assess the effects of neighbourhood characteristics measured by the 1991 census in Britain. The results show that concentrated affluence, residential instability and ethnic heterogeneity predict social capital for women. Population density is the only neighbourhood characteristic to predict social capital for men. For both men and women concentrated disadvantage and population density are associated with social disorganisation. Residential instability is additionally associated with social disorganisation for women. For women it was found that neighbourhood characteristics interact with individual social class in accounting for variations in social capital, the effects of neighbourhood characteristics being larger for those in professional and managerial and skilled non-manual occupations. The results show that neighbourhood structural characteristics influence social organisation processes. This helps establish a link between the structural characteristics of neighbourhoods and individual health outcomes.

[Social capital as a determinant of public health].

PubMed

Bravo Vallejos, N D

The concept of Social Capital (SC), originally described by Durkheim (1893), is composed of dimensions related to cohesion and trust between members of a social group, and considered by the Word Health Organization (WHO) as part of the social determinants of public health for the decrease of inequities and inequalities in health provision. To contribute to the dissemination of the concept of SC related to the social determinants of Public Health, in order to offer the reader in-depth content to observe the potential applications and practices in this field. Literature search (Google Academics™, PubMed, Science direct™, Ebsco Host™). A total of 294 full-text publications were obtained, and those selected were the most influential sources on the evolution and application of the concept of Social Capital, socioeconomic development and health in the last decade. Although the current evidence shows that Social Capital is a determinant related to health, standards are still needed for its measurement. This could allow the concept to be measured, and facilitate its integration into the form of actions that exert positive influence and contribute to the implementation of institutional interventions planned for development and public health. Copyright © 2017 SECA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Measurement of Social Participation and Its Place in Social Capital Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guillen, Laura; Coromina, Lluis; Saris, Willem E.

2011-01-01

The concept of social capital has become very popular but its definition and measurement are still rather unclear. We frame our study in one of its components, social participation. In this article we develop an optimal measure for social participation based on the questions asked in the first round of the European Social Survey. Our analyses…

Building workplace social capital: A longitudinal study of student nurses' clinical placement experiences.

PubMed

Materne, Michelle; Henderson, Amanda; Eaton, Emma

2017-09-01

Quality clinical placement experiences have been associated with nurses' workplace social capital. Social capital is broadly understood as the social organisation of trust, norms and networks that benefit society. Building social capital in the workplace may benefit experiences of staff and students. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of building workplace social capital on student nurse perceptions of clinical learning experiences. A quality improvement process was measured through repeated student surveys. First, second, third year students (n = 1176) from three universities completed a validated Student Clinical Learning Culture Survey (SCLCS) following their placement, at the commencement of quality improvement initiatives and five years later. The SCLCS measured students' perceptions of social affiliation, their motivation, satisfaction and dissatisfaction with clinical contexts. The first year of systematic changes focused on increasing student numbers along with improving communication, trust and knowledge sharing, antecedents to workplace social capital. No change was evident after the first year. Six years after commencement of building workplace social capital differences across all subscales, except dissatisfaction, were significant (p < 0.001). Leadership that promotes open communication and connections across staff and students to achieve common goals can build workplace social capital that enhances student placement experiences. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influences of Social Capital on Health and Well-Being from Qualitative Approach

PubMed Central

Yamaguchi, Ayano

2013-01-01

The social capital surrounding health including health and well-being, the way in which they function as multi-dimensional constructs, and the potential stability of relationships among the social capital were examined across universities in Hawaii and Japan. Maintaining or strengthening social factors of collective and individual health and well-being is a core factor of social capital and is instrumental in reducing worry and increasing trust. Qualitative in-depth interviews with 64 male and female college students (32 college students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa; 32 college students at Reitaku University in Japan) were used to collect information on social capital of health and well-being and associated concepts; students’ perceptions were grouped under 11 themes. The data indicates that social capital has an impact on college students’ health and well-being. They also suggest that differences in health status and well-being can be plausibly attributed to processes associated with socio-environmental circumstances and situations. PMID:23985117

Social Capital and Homeownership in Low- to Moderate-Income Neighborhoods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grinstein-Weiss, Michal; Yeo, Yeong Hun; Manturuk, Kim R.; Despard, Mathieu R.; Holub, Krista A.; Greeson, Johanna K. P.; Quercia, Roberto G.

2013-01-01

This study examined the relationship between homeownership and social capital among low- and moderate-income (LMI) households. Using data from the Community Advantage Panel Study, the authors used propensity score weighting and regression analyses to explore the relationship between LMI homeownership, neighborhood conditions, and social capital.…

The Relationship between Social Capital in Hospitals and Physician Job Satisfaction

PubMed Central

Ommen, Oliver; Driller, Elke; Köhler, Thorsten; Kowalski, Christoph; Ernstmann, Nicole; Neumann, Melanie; Steffen, Petra; Pfaff, Holger

2009-01-01

Background Job satisfaction in the hospital is an important predictor for many significant management ratios. Acceptance in professional life or high workload are known as important predictors for job satisfaction. The influence of social capital in hospitals on job satisfaction within the health care system, however, remains to be determined. Thus, this article aimed at analysing the relationship between overall job satisfaction of physicians and social capital in hospitals. Methods The results of this study are based upon questionnaires sent by mail to 454 physicians working in the field of patient care in 4 different German hospitals in 2002. 277 clinicians responded to the poll, for a response rate of 61%. Analysis was performed using three linear regression models with physician overall job satisfaction as the dependent variable and age, gender, professional experience, workload, and social capital as independent variables. Results The first regression model explained nearly 9% of the variance of job satisfaction. Whereas job satisfaction increased slightly with age, gender and professional experience were not identified as significant factors to explain the variance. Setting up a second model with the addition of subjectively-perceived workload to the analysis, the explained variance increased to 18% and job satisfaction decreased significantly with increasing workload. The third model including social capital in hospital explained 36% of the variance with social capital, professional experience and workload as significant factors. Conclusion This analysis demonstrated that the social capital of an organisation, in addition to professional experience and workload, represents a significant predictor of overall job satisfaction of physicians working in the field of patient care. Trust, mutual understanding, shared aims, and ethical values are qualities of social capital that unify members of social networks and communities and enable them to act cooperatively

Workplace social capital and risk of chronic and severe hypertension: a cohort study.

PubMed

Oksanen, Tuula; Kawachi, Ichiro; Jokela, Markus; Kouvonen, Anne; Suzuki, Etsuji; Takao, Soshi; Virtanen, Marianna; Pentti, Jaana; Vahtera, Jussi; Kivimäki, Mika

2012-06-01

The association between workplace factors and the development of hypertension remains uncertain. We examined the risk of hypertension as a function of workplace social capital, that is, social cohesion, trust and reciprocity in the workplace. A total of 11 777 male and 49 145 female employees free of chronic hypertension at baseline in 2000-2004 were followed up for incident hypertension until the end of 2005 (the Finnish Public Sector Study). We used survey responses from the participants and their coworkers in the same work unit to assess workplace social capital at baseline. Follow-up for incident hypertension was based on record linkage to national health registers (mean follow-up 3.5 years, 1424 incident hypertension cases). Male employees in work units characterized by low workplace social capital were 40-60% more likely to develop chronic hypertension compared to men in work units with high social capital [age-adjusted hazard ratio 1.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15-2.14 for self-assessed social capital and 1.41, 95% CI 1.01-1.97 for coworkers' assessment]. According to path analysis adjusted for covariates, the association between low self-reported social capital and hypertension was partially mediated by obesity (P for pathway = 0.02) and alcohol consumption (P = 0.03). For coworker-assessed social capital, the corresponding mediation pathways did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.055 and 0.22, respectively). No association between workplace social capital and hypertension was found for women. These data suggest that low self-reported workplace social capital is associated with increased near-term risk of hypertension in men in part due to unhealthy lifestyle.

Social capital or networks, negotiations, and norms? A neighborhood case study.

PubMed

Friedman, Samuel R; Mateu-Gelabert, Pedro; Curtis, Richard; Maslow, Carey; Bolyard, Melissa; Sandoval, Milagros; Flom, Peter L

2007-06-01

"Social capital" has been critiqued as distracting attention from inequalities and policies that produce ill health. We support this critique insofar as social capital refers to the degree of trust and consensus in a locality, but find value in another dimension often included in the concept of social capital--social network ties and their associated communication patterns. We present a case study of Bushwick, a community of 100,000 people in Brooklyn NY, to suggest that the network aspect of "social capital" is useful to understand the active, on-the-ground processes by which residents of some neighborhoods beset by poverty, racial/ethnic subordination, and internal divisions (that themselves arise from inequalities and state policies) work out ways to defend their own and others' safety and health. We use a combination of population-representative survey data for young adults; sexual network survey data; and ethnography to show that Bushwick residents (including drug users and dealers) have used social network ties, communication, and normative pressures to reduce the extent to which they are put at risk by the drug trade and by drug-use-related HIV/AIDS in spite of conflicting interests, disparate values, and widespread distrust both of other community members and of dominant social institutions. This was done by "intravention" health communications, development of protective norms, informal negotiations, and other forms of adjustments within and among various groups--but it occurred in the absence of trust or consensus in this community. We conclude both (1) that social network interpretations of "social capital" might be better conceptualized in dialectic terms as collective action to survive in a harsh social order, and (2) that the social capital theory emphasis on trust and consensus as important causal factors for lowering drug-related risks at the community level may be a romanticized and erroneous perspective.

Capitalizing on Bourdieu: How Useful Are Concepts of "Social Capital" and "Social Field" for Researching "Marginalized" Young Women?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allard, Andrea C.

2005-01-01

This article considers Bourdieu's concepts of "social capital" and "social fields", comparing and contrasting his use of these concepts with that of James Coleman and Robert Putnam. It examines how Bourdieu's ideas offer a different way of understanding the lives of economically disadvantaged young women designated as "at…

Psychometric evaluation of a short measure of social capital at work.

PubMed

Kouvonen, Anne; Kivimäki, Mika; Vahtera, Jussi; Oksanen, Tuula; Elovainio, Marko; Cox, Tom; Virtanen, Marianna; Pentti, Jaana; Cox, Sara J; Wilkinson, Richard G

2006-10-13

Prior studies on social capital and health have assessed social capital in residential neighbourhoods and communities, but the question whether the concept should also be applicable in workplaces has been raised. The present study reports on the psychometric properties of an 8-item measure of social capital at work. Data were derived from the Finnish Public Sector Study (N = 48,592) collected in 2000-2002. Based on face validity, an expert unfamiliar with the data selected 8 questionnaire items from the available items for a scale of social capital. Reliability analysis included tests of internal consistency, item-total correlations, and within-unit (interrater) agreement by rwg index. The associations with theoretically related and unrelated constructs were examined to assess convergent and divergent validity (construct validity). Criterion-related validity was explored with respect to self-rated health using multilevel logistic regression models. The effects of individual level and work unit level social capital were modelled on self-rated health. The internal consistency of the scale was good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88). The rwg index was 0.88, which indicates a significant within-unit agreement. The scale was associated with, but not redundant to, conceptually close constructs such as procedural justice, job control, and effort-reward imbalance. Its associations with conceptually more distant concepts, such as trait anxiety and magnitude of change in work, were weaker. In multilevel models, significantly elevated age adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of poor self-rated health (OR = 2.42, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.24-2.61 for the women and OR = 2.99, 95% CI: 2.56-3.50 for the men) were observed for the employees in the lowest vs. highest quartile of individual level social capital. In addition, low social capital at the work unit level was associated with a higher likelihood of poor self-rated health. Psychometric techniques show our 8-item measure of social

Psychometric evaluation of a short measure of social capital at work

PubMed Central

Kouvonen, Anne; Kivimäki, Mika; Vahtera, Jussi; Oksanen, Tuula; Elovainio, Marko; Cox, Tom; Virtanen, Marianna; Pentti, Jaana; Cox, Sara J; Wilkinson, Richard G

2006-01-01

Background Prior studies on social capital and health have assessed social capital in residential neighbourhoods and communities, but the question whether the concept should also be applicable in workplaces has been raised. The present study reports on the psychometric properties of an 8-item measure of social capital at work. Methods Data were derived from the Finnish Public Sector Study (N = 48,592) collected in 2000–2002. Based on face validity, an expert unfamiliar with the data selected 8 questionnaire items from the available items for a scale of social capital. Reliability analysis included tests of internal consistency, item-total correlations, and within-unit (interrater) agreement by rwg index. The associations with theoretically related and unrelated constructs were examined to assess convergent and divergent validity (construct validity). Criterion-related validity was explored with respect to self-rated health using multilevel logistic regression models. The effects of individual level and work unit level social capital were modelled on self-rated health. Results The internal consistency of the scale was good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88). The rwg index was 0.88, which indicates a significant within-unit agreement. The scale was associated with, but not redundant to, conceptually close constructs such as procedural justice, job control, and effort-reward imbalance. Its associations with conceptually more distant concepts, such as trait anxiety and magnitude of change in work, were weaker. In multilevel models, significantly elevated age adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of poor self-rated health (OR = 2.42, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.24–2.61 for the women and OR = 2.99, 95% CI: 2.56–3.50 for the men) were observed for the employees in the lowest vs. highest quartile of individual level social capital. In addition, low social capital at the work unit level was associated with a higher likelihood of poor self-rated health. Conclusion Psychometric

Social capital and transaction costs in millet markets.

PubMed

Jacques, Damien Christophe; Marinho, Eduardo; d'Andrimont, Raphaël; Waldner, François; Radoux, Julien; Gaspart, Frédéric; Defourny, Pierre

2018-01-01

In sub-Saharan Africa, transaction costs are believed to be the most significant barrier that prevents smallholders and farmers from gaining access to markets and productive assets. In this study, we explore the impact of social capital on millet prices for three contrasted years in Senegal. Social capital is approximated using a unique data set on mobile phone communications between 9 million people allowing to simulate the business network between economic agents. Our approach is a spatial equilibrium model that integrates a diversified set of data. Local supply and demand were respectively derived from remotely sensed imagery and population density maps. The road network was used to establish market catchment areas, and transportation costs were derived from distances between markets. Results demonstrate that accounting for the social capital in the transaction costs explained 1-9% of the price variance depending on the year. The year-specific effect remains challenging to assess but could be related to a strengthening of risk aversion following a poor harvest.

Building Social Capital among Social Work Educators: A Strategy for Curriculum Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sugawara, Carmen G. Luca

2009-01-01

This article explores the role of human relations in the process of curriculum change in social work education. Social capital, the theoretical framework that underpins this research, explains how social resources are made available to social work faculty and groups for their own benefit. Using data from 88 surveys completed by social work…

A qualitative study on the attributes of nurses' workplace social capital in Japan.

PubMed

Norikoshi, Kensuke; Kobayashi, Toshio; Tabuchi, Keiji

2018-01-01

To identify attributes of nurses' workplace social capital in Japan. Much attention has been paid to nurses' workplace social capital to improve the quality of the work environment; however, few studies are available on the attributes of nurses' workplace social capital. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 nurses at seven hospitals. Nurses reported on the attributes of workplace social capital, such as characteristics facilitating individual positive action in an organisation, which were qualitatively analysed using the Kawakita Jiro method. The attributes of nurses' workplace social capital were organised into six groups: affirmation; exchange of appreciation; unrestricted information sharing; ability to trust; access to the strength; and altruistic reciprocity. The attributes of nurses' workplace social capital included a social structure that allowed nurses to make full use of their abilities both vertically and horizontally and were supported by a sense of security. In particular, newly emerged exchange of appreciation and altruistic reciprocity were important for nurses in Japan in building cooperative relationships with others. Managing human relationships, such as exchange of appreciation and altruistic reciprocity, in clinical settings based on nurses' workplace social capital may promote positive emotions in the organisation, positive ideas among staff and cooperative teamwork, which may lead to high-quality patient care. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Meta-Analysis of Social Capital and Health: A Case for Needed Research

PubMed Central

Gilbert, Keon L.; Quinn, Sandra C.; Goodman, Robert M.; Butler, James; Wallace, John

2014-01-01

Background Social capital refers to various levels of social relationships formed through social networks. Measurement differences have lead to imprecise measurement. Methods A meta-analysis of eligible studies assessing the bivariate association between social capital and self-reported health and all-cause mortality. Results Thirty-nine studies met inclusion criteria, showing social capital increased odds of good health by 27% (95% confidence intervals [CI] =21%, 34%). Social capital variables, reciprocity increased odds of good health by 39% (95% CI = 21%, 60%), trust by 32% (95% CI =19%, 46%). Future research suggests operationalizing measures by assessing differences by race/ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status. PMID:23548810

Affording to exchange: social capital and online information sharing.

PubMed

Maksl, Adam; Young, Rachel

2013-08-01

The potential harm and benefit associated with sharing personal information online is a topic of debate and discussion. Using survey methods (n=872), we explore whether attainment of social capital online relates to greater comfort with sharing personal information. We found that perceptions of bridging and bonding social capital earned from using Facebook are significant predictors of overall comfort levels with sharing personal information. This research raises timely questions about how the perceived benefits of social networking sites influence how personal information is shared online.

Comparing Swedish and Norwegian Teachers' Professional Development: How Human Capital and Social Capital Factor into Teachers' Reading Habits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reichenberg, Monica; Andreassen, Rune

2018-01-01

The present study compares how Swedish (n = 340) and Norwegian (n = 236) teachers' human capital and social capital support reading habits as an aspect of professional development. The overall aim was to describe how teachers' human and social capital support their professional development as measured by the aspect of reading habits during leisure…

The Role of Social Capital in the Explanation of Educational Success and Educational Inequalities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roth, Tobias

2013-01-01

This article examines the role that social capital plays in school success and in the explanation of social and ethnic inequalities in the German educational system. Based on Coleman's well-known concept of social capital, different aspects of social capital are distinguished, including social network composition, parent-school interaction and…

Function and Functional Explanation in Social Capital Theory: A Philosophical Appraisal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vorhaus, John

2014-01-01

Social capital is frequently offered up as a variable to explain such educational outcomes as academic attainment, drop-out rates and cognitive development. Yet, despite its popularity amongst social scientists, social capital theory remains the object of some scepticism, particularly in respect of its explanatory ambitions. I provide an account…

The Contribution of a Social Enterprise to the Building of Social Capital in a Disadvantaged Urban Area of London

PubMed Central

Bertotti, Marcello; Harden, Angela; Renton, Adrian; Sheridan, Kevin

2016-01-01

There has been much enthusiasm over the past 10 years for the potential contribution of social enterprises to the regeneration of disadvantaged urban areas. This enthusiasm has far outstripped the availability of empirical evidence. This paper reports a qualitative study of one social enterprise, a community café, and its contribution to building social capital in a disadvantaged urban area in London. The analysis reveals how the café builds ‘bonding’ and ‘bridging’ social capital whilst also addressing ‘downside’ social capital. Overall, the manager of the social enterprise played a considerable role in facilitating the development of social capital, thus emphasising the importance of individuals and their attitudes, skills, and background in urban regeneration. However, the role of the social enterprise in building ‘linking’ social capital was minor. In this instance, more effective mechanisms of community engagement need to be put in place in order to empower local residents and organisations. PMID:27746483

77 FR 57074 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Social Capital Survey of Northeast Groundfish...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-17

... Collection; Comment Request; Social Capital Survey of Northeast Groundfish Fishery Permit Holders AGENCY... action over time. The value of these relationships is commonly referred to in social and economic literature as social capital. A baseline of existing social capital in the groundfish fishery in the...

Social Capital, Narratives of Fragmentation, and Schizophrenia: An Ethnographic Exploration of Factors Shaping African-Caribbeans’ Social Capital and Mental Health in a North London Community

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Recent research studies have proposed the concept of social capital—broadly defined as social networks, community cohesion, and participation—as a social risk factor for health disparities and the high rates of schizophrenia among individuals of Caribbean heritage in England. However, many of the existing studies lack sociohistorical contexts and do not capture the experiential dimensions of individuals’ social capital. This paper adds to the debate by examining the mechanisms and sociocultural processes that shape the understandings and experiences of social capital in a sample of British African-Caribbeans. Drawing on ethnographic and survey data collected over 2 years in a North London community, the paper focuses on participants’ every day experiences and the stories they tell about their community and social fragmentation. These stories suggest that social changes and historical forces interact to affect the social capital and emotional well-being of local African-Caribbean residents. I argue that my participants’ collective narratives about their social environment contribute to the emotional tone of the community, and create added stressors that may impact their mental health. PMID:23832434

Social Capital and Academic Motivation among First-Generation Community College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moschetti, Roxanne Venus; Hudley, Cynthia

2015-01-01

Social capital, the value of a relationship that provides support and assistance in a given social situation (Stanton-Salazar, 2001), is a useful theory for understanding the experiences of low-income adolescents who are the first in their families to attend college. According to social capital theory, networks of relationships can help students…

Effects of child health on parents' social capital.

PubMed

Schultz, Jennifer; Corman, Hope; Noonan, Kelly; Reichman, Nancy E

2009-07-01

This paper adds to the literature on social capital and health by testing whether an exogenous shock in the health of a family member (a new baby) affects the family's investment in social capital. It also contributes to a small but growing literature on the effects of children's health on family resources and provides information about associations between health and social capital in a socioeconomically disadvantaged population. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, a longitudinal survey of about 5000 births to mostly unwed parents in 20 U.S. cities during the years 1998-2000. Both parents were interviewed at the time of the birth and then again one and three years later. The infants' medical records from the birth hospitalization were reviewed, and poor infant health was characterized to reflect serious and random health problems that were present at birth. Social interactions, reported at three years, include the parents' participation in church groups, service clubs, political organizations, community groups, and organizations working with children; regular religious attendance; and visiting relatives with the child. Education, employment, wages, and sociodemographic characteristics are included in the analyses. The results suggest that infant health shocks do not affect the parents' social interactions.

Social capital and health during pregnancy; an in-depth exploration from rural Sri Lanka.

PubMed

Agampodi, Thilini Chanchala; Rheinländer, Thilde; Agampodi, Suneth Buddhika; Glozier, Nicholas; Siribaddana, Sisira

2017-07-27

Dimensions of social capital relevant to health in pregnancy are sparsely described in the literature. This study explores dimensions of social capital and the mechanisms in which they could affect the health of rural Sri Lankan pregnant women. An exploratory qualitative study of solicited diaries written by pregnant women on their social relationships, diary interviews and in-depth interviews with key informants was conducted. A framework approach for qualitative data analysis was used. Pregnant women (41), from eight different communities completed diaries and 38 post-diary interviews. Sixteen key informant interviews were conducted with public health midwives and senior community dwellers. We identified ten cognitive and five structural constructs of social capital relevant to health in pregnancy. Domestic and neighborhood cohesion were the most commonly expressed constructs. Social support was limited to support from close family, friends and public health midwives. A high density of structural social capital was observed in the micro-communities. Membership in local community groups was not common. Four different pathways by which social capital could influence health in pregnancy were identified. These include micro-level cognitive social capital by promoting mental wellbeing; micro-level structural social capital by reducing minor ailments in pregnancy; micro-level social support mechanisms promoting physical and mental wellbeing through psychosocial resources and health systems at each level providing focused maternal care. Current tools available may not contain the relevant constructs to capture the unique dimensions of social capital in pregnancy. Social capital can influence health during pregnancy, mainly through improved psychosocial resources generated by social cohesion in micro-communities and by the embedded neighborhood public health services.

Does low workplace social capital have detrimental effect on workers' health?

PubMed

Suzuki, Etsuji; Takao, Soshi; Subramanian, S V; Komatsu, Hirokazu; Doi, Hiroyuki; Kawachi, Ichiro

2010-05-01

While the majority of studies of social capital and health have focused on conceptualizing social capital at the geographic level, evidence remains sparse on workplace social capital. We examined the association between workplace social capital and health status among Japanese private sector employees in a cross-sectional study. By employing a two-stage stratified random sampling procedure, 1147 employees were identified from 46 companies in Okayama in 2007. Workplace social capital was measured based on two components; trust and reciprocity. Company-level social capital was based on aggregating employee responses and calculating the proportion of workers reporting mistrust and lack of reciprocity. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods to explore whether individual- and company-level mistrust and lack of reciprocity were associated with poor self-rated health. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% credible intervals (CIs) for poor health were obtained for each variable. Workers reporting individual-level mistrust and lack of reciprocity had approximately double the odds of poor health even after controlling for sex, age, occupation, educational attainment, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, body mass index, and chronic diseases. While we found some suggestion of a contextual association between company-level mistrust and poor health, no association was found between company-level lack of reciprocity and health. Despite the thorough examination of cross-level interaction terms between company-level social capital and individual characteristics, no clear patterns were observed. Individual perceptions of mistrust and lack of reciprocity at work have adverse effects on self-rated health among Japanese workers. Although the present study possibly suggests the contextual effect of workplace mistrust on workers' health, the contextual effect of workplace lack of reciprocity was not supported. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd

Neighborhood differences in social capital: a compositional artifact or a contextual construct?

PubMed

Subramanian, S V; Lochner, Kimberly A; Kawachi, Ichiro

2003-03-01

Assessment of social capital at the neighborhood level is often based on aggregating individual perceptions of trust and reciprocity. Individual perceptions, meanwhile, are influenced through a range of individual attributes. This paper examines the socioeconomic and demographic attributes that systematically correlate with individual perception of social capital and determines the extent to which such attributes account for neighborhood differences in social capital. Using improved multilevel modeling procedures, we ascertain the extent to which differences in social capital perception can be ascribed to true neighborhood-level variations. The analysis is based on the 1994-95 Community Survey of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). The response measure is based on survey respondent's perceptions of whether people in their neighborhood can be trusted. The results suggest that even after accounting for individual demographic (age, sex, race, marital status) and socioeconomic characteristics (income, education), significant neighborhood differences remain in individual perceptions of trust, substantiating the notion of social capital as a true contextual construct.

Does social capital protect mental health among migrants in Sweden?

PubMed

Lecerof, Susanne Sundell; Stafström, Martin; Westerling, Ragnar; Östergren, Per-Olof

2016-09-01

Poor mental health is common among migrants. This has been explained by migration-related and socio-economic factors. Weak social capital has also been related to poor mental health. Few studies have explored factors that protect mental health of migrants in the post-migration phase. Such knowledge could be useful for health promotion purposes. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse associations between financial difficulties, housing problems and experience of discrimination and poor mental health; and to detect possible effect modification by social capital, among recently settled Iraqi migrants in Sweden. A postal questionnaire in Arabic was sent to recently settled Iraqi citizens. The response rate was 51% (n = 617). Mental health was measured by the GHQ-12 instrument and social capital was defined as social participation and trust in others. Data were analysed by means of logistic regression. Poor mental health was associated with experience of discrimination (OR 2.88, 95% CI 1.73-4.79), housing problems (OR 2.79, 95% CI 1.84-4.22), and financial difficulties (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.44-3.19), after adjustments. Trust in others seemed to have a protective effect for mental health when exposed to these factors. Social participation had a protective effect when exposed to experience of discrimination. Social determinants and social capital in the host country play important roles in the mental health of migrants. Social capital modifies the effect of risk factors and might be a fruitful way to promote resilience to factors harmful to mental health among migrants, but must be combined with policy efforts to reduce social inequities. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

#DocsOnTwitter: How Physicians use Social Media to Build Social Capital.

PubMed

Hanzel, Taylor; Richards, Jessica; Schwitters, Paige; Smith, Kirsten; Wendland, Kyle; Martin, Jamie; Keltgen, Jaciel

2018-01-01

Using social capital theory, Augustana University healthcare marketing students examined how medical professionals utilize social media to further engage with their communities. The team selected Twitter as the social media network from which to collect data because of its popularity and ease of use. The sample was drawn from 1,000 Twitter profiles that were retrieved from 24 keywords such as MD. A total of 3,378,285 tweets from this sample were collected and analyzed for content, use of hashtags, mobile device use, frequency, longevity, medical relevance, medical specialty, gender, and approximate age. This is an important first look, using Big Data, at how physicians parlay the popularity of social media to build social capital through sharing research with colleagues, connecting with patients and prospective patients, and extending their personal and employer brands to increasingly information-hungry and interactive consumers.

Effects of Living Alone on Social Capital and Health Among Older Adults in China.

PubMed

Xu, Qingwen; Norstrand, Julie A; Du, Yan

2015-12-01

Social capital has been connected with positive health outcomes across countries, including China. Given the rise in the number of seniors living alone, there is a need to examine the health benefits of social capital, accounting for living arrangements. Data from the 2005 Chinese General Social Survey were used to test research hypotheses. Controlling for demographics, elders living alone possessed similar level of social capital compared with elders living with others. While bonding and linking social capital were significant factors in urban areas and linking social capital was a significant factor in rural areas, the relationship between living alone and health did not differ based on the level of social capital possession. When the traditional intergenerational living arrangement has not been a valid option for many older adults in China, seeking new way of family caring, and developing appropriate social and institutional structures to assist elders living alone, becomes critical. © The Author(s) 2016.

Social determinants of health--a question of social or economic capital? Interaction effects of socioeconomic factors on health outcomes.

PubMed

Ahnquist, Johanna; Wamala, Sarah P; Lindstrom, Martin

2012-03-01

Social structures and socioeconomic patterns are the major determinants of population health. However, very few previous studies have simultaneously analysed the "social" and the "economic" indicators when addressing social determinants of health. We focus on the relevance of economic and social capital as health determinants by analysing various indicators. The aim of this paper was to analyse independent associations, and interactions, of lack of economic capital (economic hardships) and social capital (social participation, interpersonal and political/institutional trust) on various health outcomes. Data was derived from the 2009 Swedish National Survey of Public Health, based on a randomly selected representative sample of 23,153 men and 28,261 women aged 16-84 year, with a participation rate of 53.8%. Economic hardships were measured by a combined economic hardships measure including low household income, inability to meet expenses and lacking cash reserves. Social capital was measured by social participation, interpersonal (horizontal) trust and political (vertical/institutional trust) trust in parliament. Health outcomes included; (i) self-rated health, (i) psychological distress (GHQ-12) and (iii) musculoskeletal disorders. Results from multivariate logistic regression show that both measures of economic capital and low social capital were significantly associated with poor health status, with only a few exceptions. Significant interactive effects measured as synergy index were observed between economic hardships and all various types of social capital. The synergy indices ranged from 1.4 to 2.3. The present study adds to the evidence that both economic hardships and social capital contribute to a range of different health outcomes. Furthermore, when combined they potentiate the risk of poor health. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cool Girls, Inc. and Self-Concept: The Role of Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomason, Jessica D.; Kuperminc, Gabriel

2014-01-01

Social capital was examined as a mediator of the association between youth development program participation and gains in self-concept in a sample of 86 primarily African American female adolescents in the Cool Girls, program, and 89 comparisons. Two dimensions of social capital (the diversity of girls' social networks and the number of life…

Can Geographic Bridging Social Capital Improve the Health of People Who Live in Deprived Urban Neighborhoods?

PubMed

Kim, Chang-O; Cho, Byong-Hee

2016-10-01

The growing number of people living in deprived urban neighborhoods, which often have unhealthy environments, is of growing concern to inequality researchers. Social capital could be a resource to help such communities get ahead. In this study, we examined the differential effects of bonding and bridging social capital on self-rated health using two operational definitions, which we call personal and geographic social capital. Bonding and bridging social capital were operationally distinguished as respondents' perceived similarity to other members of a group with respect to personal characteristics (personal social capital) or as structural similarity with respect to geographical location (geographic social capital). The results showed that although both bonding and bridging social capital as defined by person-based criteria were associated with increased odds of self-rated health compared to those who reported zero participation, when defined by place-based criteria, only bridging social capital was associated with increased odds of self-rated health; no clear association was found between health and belonging to groups within the neighborhood, so-called geographic bonding social capital. The present study suggests that geographic bridging social capital can function as linking social capital that enables an upward approach depending on the political and economic contexts of urbanization. © The Author(s) 2015.

Social Capital, Human Capital and Parent-Child Relation Quality: Interacting for Children's Educational Achievement?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

von Otter, Cecilia; Stenberg, Sten-Åke

2015-01-01

We analyse the utility of social capital for children's achievement, and if this utility interacts with family human capital and the quality of the parent-child relationship. Our focus is on parental activities directly related to children's school work. Our data stem from a Swedish cohort born in 1953 and consist of both survey and register data.…

Social Capital and Community Heterogeneity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coffe, Hilde

2009-01-01

Recent findings indicate that more pronounced community heterogeneity is associated with lower levels of social capital. These studies, however, concentrate on specific aspects in which people differ (such as income inequality or ethnic diversity). In the present paper, we introduce the number of parties in the local party system as a more…

Creating sustainable city by enhancing social capital

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Affandi, R. A.; Mursitama, T. N.

2018-03-01

Scholars have been discussing social capital since the last two decades. They analyzed from various perspectives such as sociology, education, political participation, strengthening democratic values and economic empowerment of the society. However, study related to the implementation that benefits directly to the society is needed. This study examines how to create a sustainable city by enhancing social capital from both macro and micro analyses. This combination of analysis offers deeper understanding both from decision makers at city level and individuals, groups and society. We will conduct qualitative approach mainly by interviews and direct observation to collect the data. also, we also analyze publicly available data. Finally, this study contributes to new understanding in creating a sustainable city, not only about the environment and physical aspects, but also about ensuring political economic, democratic values, and social welfare.

Measuring Social Capital among First-Generation and Non-First-Generation, Working-Class, White Males

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moschetti, Roxanne; Hudley, Cynthia

2008-01-01

Social capital is a useful theory for understanding the experiences of working class, first-generation college students. Social capital is the value of a relationship that provides support and assistance in a given social situation. According to social capital theory, networks of relationships can aid students in managing an otherwise unfamiliar…

Cirque du Monde as a health intervention: perceptions of medical students and social circus experts.

PubMed

Fournier, Cynthia; Drouin, Mélodie-Anne; Marcoux, Jérémie; Garel, Patricia; Bochud, Emmanuel; Théberge, Julie; Aubertin, Patrice; Favreau, Gil; Fleet, Richard

2014-11-01

To present Cirque du Soleil's social circus program, Cirque du Monde, to explore its potential as a primary health care tool for family physicians. A review of the literature in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, LaPresse, Eureka, Google Scholar, and Érudit using the key words circus, social circus, Cirque du Monde, and Cirque du Soleil; a Montreal-based initiative, Espace Transition, modeled on Cirque du Monde; and personal communication with Cirque du Soleil's Social Circus Training Advisor. The first 50 articles or websites identified for each key word in each of the databases were examined on the basis of their titles and abstracts in the case of articles, and on the basis of their titles and page content in the case of websites. Articles and websites that explored an aspect of social circuses or that described an intervention that involved circuses were then retained for analysis. Because all literature on social circuses was searched, no criterion for year of publication was used. No articles on the social circus as a health intervention were found. One study on the use of the circus as an intervention in schools was identified. It demonstrated an increase in self-esteem in the children who took part. One study on the use of the circus in a First Nations community was found; it contained nonspecific, qualitative findings. The other articles identified were merely descriptions of social circuses. One website was identified on the use of the social circus to help youth who had been treated in a hospital setting for major psychiatric disorders to re-enter the community. The team in the pediatric psychiatry department at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, the children's hospital in Montreal, Que, was contacted; they were leading this project, called Espace Transition. The unpublished preliminary findings of its pilot project demonstrate substantial improvements in overall patient functioning. According to Cirque du Soleil, there are several

Social Capital, Perceived Economic Affluence, and Smoking During Adolescence: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

Koutra, Kleio; Kritsotakis, George; Linardakis, Manolis; Ratsika, Nikoleta; Kokkevi, Anna; Philalithis, Anastas

2017-01-28

Smoking is among the health risk behaviors taken up by many adolescents with lifelong consequences and associations with multiple health risk behaviors. Smoking and smoking initiation in adolescence involves an interaction between micro-, meso-, and macro systems, including neighborhoods and the greater community. To examine the associations of individual social and economic capital with self-reported health, life satisfaction, and smoking behavior in adolescents. Using a multistage random sampling of junior high school students (16-18 years old) in Crete, Greece, 703 adolescents (90.2% 16 years old; 55.6% girls, participation rate 84.2%) completed an anonymous questionnaire based on HBSC study and the Youth Social Capital Scale (YSCS) during April-June 2008. Multiple logistic regression models were performed adjusted for potential confounders. Adolescents with high participation in their neighborhoods and communities (higher structural social capital) displayed lower odds for daily smoking; those feeling unsafe (lower cognitive social capital) were at greater odds of daily smoking. Adolescents with less friends and acquaintances had lower odds of having tried tobacco products. Smoking was not related to any economic capital variables (perceived affluence, paternal and maternal employment status). Adolescents with low/medium versus high total social capital were at higher odds for low life satisfaction and fair/bad versus excellent self-rated health. Conclusions/Importance: Social capital theory may provide a better understanding in identifying the social context that is protective or harmful to adolescents' smoking. Public health organizations at all levels need to incorporate social capital theory in their interventions.

HIV/AIDS, social capital, and online social networks.

PubMed

Drushel, Bruce E

2013-01-01

The prospects for online social networks as sites of information-gathering and affiliation for persons with AIDS and others concerned about HIV/AIDS not only represent the latest development in a trend toward circumventing traditional media and official information sources, but also may offer hope for a revitalization of HIV/AIDS discourse in the public sphere. This article provides an overview of three decades of information-seeking on the pandemic and its social and personal implications, as well as case studies of three examples of social networking surrounding HIV/AIDS. It finds preliminary evidence of the formation of strong and weak ties as described in Social Network Theory and suggests that the online accumulation of social capital by opinion leaders could facilitate dissemination of messages on HIV/AIDS awareness and testing.

Enhancing social capital for sustainable coastal development: Is satoumi the answer?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henocque, Yves

2013-01-01

Social capital constitutes the cultural component of modern societies. Building social capital has typically been seen as a task for ‘second generation' economic reform, but unlike economic policies and institutions, social capital is not created or shaped by public policy but is inherited throughout local communities successive generations. Enhancing social capital therefore is about promoting local knowledge deeply rooted into local communities' practices on land and at sea. In Japan, the culturally specific interaction of humans with nature has led to the emergence of specific socio-ecosystems called ‘satoyama' on the land side and ‘satoumi' on the coast and sea side. Here, characteristics of related local knowledge include information about consumed products like wild edible plants or seaweeds, and learning by doing practices like traditional rice cultivation or sea ranching. This knowledge has been developed over centuries and has been handed down from generation to generation. There are actually other types of satoyama and satoumi which have been flourishing around the world though the latter (satoumi) probably has no equivalent in other countries' coastal areas because of the unique Japanese fishing rights system. First largely ignored as a social capital, satoumi has emerged as a new concept only a few years ago. In the frame of the recently adopted national ocean policy such a social capital, like it may be found in other countries, should not be ignored when addressing integrated coastal zone management processes and tools for the sake of sustainable coastal development in Japan and elsewhere in the world.

Social capital influence in illicit drug use among racial/ethnic groups in the United States.

PubMed

Reynoso-Vallejo, Humberto

2011-01-01

Data from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health was utilized to elucidate the relationship between individual-level social capital and illicit drug use among racial/ethnic groups. Analysis of variance indicated that Whites had different perceptions of social capital compared to other groups, in measures of social participation, neighborhood cohesion, trust, and norms of reciprocity. Logistic regression analysis showed that individual-level social capital, measured by trust and norms of reciprocity, was weakly associated with illicit drug use. However, individuals with higher social participation were less likely to have used illicit drugs ever or during the month prior to the interview. The association between social capital and illicit drug use is discussed, as well as the role of social participation in illicit drug use. Rather than an individual-level measure of social capital, future research should employ a neighborhood-level measure of social capital that aggregates neighborhood cohesion, trust, norms of reciprocity, and social participation. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Social capital and health: implications for public health and epidemiology.

PubMed

Lomas, J

1998-11-01

Public health and its "basic science", epidemiology, have become colonised by the individualistic ethic of medicine and economics. Despite a history in public health dating back to John Snow that underlined the importance of social systems for health, an imbalance has developed in the attention given to generating "social capital" compared to such things as modification of individual's risk factors. In an illustrative analysis comparing the potential of six progressively less individualised and more community-focused interventions to prevent deaths from heart disease, social support and measures to increase social cohesion faired well against more individual medical care approaches. In the face of such evidence public health professionals and epidemiologists have an ethical and strategic decision concerning the relative effort they give to increasing social cohesion in communities vs expanding access for individuals to traditional public health programs. Practitioners' relative efforts will be influenced by the kind of research that is being produced by epidemiologists and by the political climate of acceptability for voluntary individual "treatment" approaches vs universal policies to build "social capital". For epidemiologists to further our emerging understanding of the link between social capital and health they must confront issues in measurement, study design and analysis. For public health advocates to sensitise the political environment to the potential dividend from building social capital, they must confront the values that focus on individual-level causal models rather than models of social structure (dis)integration. The evolution of explanations for inequalities in health is used to illustrate the nature of the change in values.

Impact of social capital on depression trajectories of older women in Korea.

PubMed

Park, Mi-Jin

2017-04-01

This study examines the impact of social capital on depressive symptoms trajectories among Korean women aged 65 years or older. It also examines the difference in depressive symptoms and social capital by economic status (poverty group, non-poverty group) among community-dwelling older women in Korea. This study used 2435 older women of the Korean Welfare Panel Study from 2006 (wave 1) to 2013 (wave 8) data using latent growth modeling. Social capital variables were cognitive (interpersonal trust, reciprocity) and structural (the size of family, the number of friends or neighbors, participation in leisure and volunteer activities). The results showed both intra- and inter-individual variability in depressive symptoms over time. Interpersonal trust and reciprocity as cognitive social capital had an effect on the change of depressive symptoms in intercept and slope. The size of family, participation in leisure activities among structural social capital were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms in intercept and slope. The results of this study suggest some practical implications for depression intervention and prevention and further research on late-life depression.

Does Social Capital Explain Community-Level Differences in Organ Donor Designation?

PubMed

Ladin, Keren; Wang, Rui; Fleishman, Aaron; Boger, Matthew; Rodrigue, James R

2015-09-01

The growing shortage of life-saving organs has reached unprecedented levels, with more than 120,000 Americans waiting for them. Despite national attempts to increase organ donation and federal laws mandating the equitable allocation of organs, geographic disparities remain. A better understanding of the contextual determinants of organ donor designation, including social capital, may enhance efforts to increase organ donation by raising the probability of collective action and fostering norms of reciprocity and cooperation while increasing costs to defectors. Because community-level factors, including social capital, predict more than half the variation in donor designation, future interventions should tailor strategies to specific communities as the unit of intervention. The growing shortage of organs has reached unprecedented levels. Despite national attempts to increase donation and federal laws mandating the equitable allocation of organs, their availability and waiting times vary significantly nationwide. Organ donor designation is a collective action problem in public health, in which the regional organ supply and average waiting times are determined by the willingness of individuals to be listed as organ donors. Social capital increases the probability of collective action by fostering norms of reciprocity and cooperation while increasing costs to defectors. We examine whether social capital and other community-level factors explain geographic variation in organ donor designation rates in Massachusetts. We obtained a sample of 3,281,532 registered drivers in 2010 from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Registry of Motor Vehicles (MassDOT RMV). We then geocoded the registry data, matched them to 4,466 census blocks, and linked them to the 2010 US Census, the American Community Survey (ACS), and other sources to obtain community-level sociodemographic, social capital (residential segregation, voter registration and participation, residential

Social capital and HIV risks among acculturating Asian Indian men in New York City.

PubMed

Bhattacharya, Gauri

2005-12-01

This community-based, qualitative study explored social capital resources and their influences upon HIV risk behaviors in a sample of 17 heterosexual Asian Indian immigrant men residing in New York City. Our study defined social capital as the resources available to individuals and society through social relationships. At the family, peer, and community levels, social capital's influence appeared to reduce acculturative stress and HIV risks. However, participants who lacked sexually transmitted infection and HIV transmission knowledge and/or sought peer solidarity through adherence to negative peer norms (e.g., alcohol use with sex) had elevated sexual risks for HIV. These findings suggest the promise of a social capital approach in the development of HIV prevention programs, as well as the need for HIV risk and social capital researchers to examine multiple systems of social relationships in sociocultural context.

Social Capital and Vulnerability from the Family, Neighborhood, School, and Community Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Bonita; Le Menestrel, Suzanne M.

2013-01-01

This article reviews research and offers program examples for developing social capital in youth with a range of vulnerabilities: emotional, physical, social, and developmental. Protective factors provided by developing social capital at the individual level include access to support networks, transition to employment, and community connectedness.…

School Cheating and Social Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paccagnella, Marco; Sestito, Paolo

2014-01-01

In this paper we investigate the relationship between social capital and cheating behaviour in standardized tests. Given the low-stakes nature of these tests, we interpret the widespread presence of cheating as a signal of low trust towards central education authorities and as lack of respect for the rule of law. We find that cheating is…

Social capital and fisheries management: the case of Chilika Lake in India.

PubMed

Sekhar, Nagothu Udaya

2007-04-01

This article shows how social capital impacts fisheries management at the local level in Chilika Lake, located in the state of Orissa in India. In Chilika, the different fishing groups established norms and "rules of the game" including, but not limited to, spatial limits that determine who can fish and in what areas, temporal restrictions about when and for how long people may fish, gear constraints about what harvesting gear may be used by each group, and physical controls on size and other characteristics of fish that may be harvested. A survey of the members of fishing groups has shown that the bonding social capital is strong within the Chilika fishing groups. Bonding and bridging social capital keeps the fishers together in times of resource scarcity, checks violations of community rules and sanctions, and strengthens the community fisheries management. In contrast, linking social capital in Chilika appears to be weak, as is evident from the lack of trust in external agencies, seeking the help of formal institutions for legal support, and increasing conflicts. Trust and cooperation among fishers is crucial in helping to build the social capital. A social capital perspective on fisheries governance suggests that there should be a rethinking of priorities and funding mechanisms, from "top-down" fisheries management towards "co-management" with a focus on engendering rights and responsibilities for fishers and their communities.

Capital social de los padres de escolares de una zona vulnerable.

PubMed

Cornejo, Susana; Herrera, Ariel; Hilas, Elena; Gigena, Y Pablo

2018-01-01

El capital social supone importantes inversiones materiales, simbólicas y de esfuerzos. Conocer el capital social de una comunidad puede facilitar la comprensión del beneficio de las relaciones comunitarias para la promoción de salud. Con el objetivo de reconocer los componentes del capital social de padres de escolares atendiendo una escuela en una zona vulnerable de la ciudad de Córdoba, Argentina, indagamos a través de grupos focales acerca de elementos esenciales del capital social. La asintonía socio-cultural entre los pobladores originarios y los reubicados, la estigmatización policial y el clientelismo político han generado desconfianza del uno hacia el otro en diferentes aspectos convivenciales, siendo la familia la única red de apoyo. La escuela se reconoce como espacio adonde la gente espontáneamente se organiza para invertir en redes sociales, presentándose así con potencialidad para la promoción de conductas saludables, por el lugar simbólico que ocupa para los padres.

Inequalities in social capital and health between people with and without disabilities.

PubMed

Mithen, Johanna; Aitken, Zoe; Ziersch, Anne; Kavanagh, Anne M

2015-02-01

The poor mental and physical health of people with disabilities has been well documented and there is evidence to suggest that inequalities in health between people with and without disabilities may be at least partly explained by the socioeconomic disadvantage (e.g. low education, unemployment) experienced by people with disabilities. Although there are fewer studies documenting inequalities in social capital, the evidence suggests that people with disabilities are also disadvantaged in this regard. We drew on Bourdieu's conceptualisation of social capital as the resources that flow to individuals from their membership of social networks. Using data from the General Social Survey 2010 of 15,028 adults living in private dwellings across non-remote areas of Australia, we measured social capital across three domains: informal networks (contact with family and friends); formal networks (group membership and contacts in influential organisations) and social support (financial, practical and emotional). We compared levels of social capital and self-rated health for people with and without disabilities and for people with different types of impairments (sensory and speech, physical, psychological and intellectual). Further, we assessed whether differences in levels of social capital contributed to inequalities in health between people with and without disabilities. We found that people with disabilities were worse off than people without disabilities in regard to informal and formal networks, social support and self-rated health status, and that inequalities were greatest for people with intellectual and psychological impairments. Differences in social capital did not explain the association between disability and health. These findings underscore the importance of developing social policies which promote the inclusion of people with disabilities, according to the varying needs of people with different impairments types. Given the changing policy environment, ongoing

What is the association between social capital and diabetes mellitus? A systematic review.

PubMed

Flôr, Cristina Rabelo; Baldoni, Nayara Ragi; Aquino, Jéssica Azevedo; Baldoni, André Oliveira; Fabbro, Amaury Lelis Dal; Figueiredo, Roberta Carvalho; Oliveira, Cláudia Di Lorenzo

2018-03-27

Social capital has been included as an element that could influence the self-perception of health, mortality and mental diseases. We systematically reviewed papers that studied the influence of social capital in the control of diabetes mellitus (DM). We included studies published up to Feb. 16, 2017, without restriction of time or year of publication. Quantitative studies were included since they presented one well-defined parameter to evaluate DM and specifically measured social capital. We used the PRISMA and STROBE guidelines to perform this review and to evaluate the quality of papers. Only three papers met the inclusion criteria. All studies adopted cross-sectional design. The population, the instruments used to measure social capital, and the statistical analysis were different among the papers. In conclusion, although social capital seems to be related to DM, more studies are necessary to understand which dimensions are more important in this association, if the association is the same at the individual or neighborhood level, and what kind of population in terms of education, poverty and culture would be more influenced by social capital in DM control. Copyright © 2018 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Workplace Determinants of Social Capital: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Evidence from a Finnish Cohort Study

PubMed Central

Oksanen, Tuula; Kawachi, Ichiro; Kouvonen, Anne; Takao, Soshi; Suzuki, Etsuji; Virtanen, Marianna; Pentti, Jaana; Kivimäki, Mika; Vahtera, Jussi

2013-01-01

Objective To examine which contextual features of the workplace are associated with social capital. Methods This is a cohort study of 43,167 employees in 3090 Finnish public sector workplaces who responded to a survey of individual workplace social capital in 2000–02 (response rate 68%). We used ecometrics approach to estimate social capital of work units. Features of the workplace were work unit's demographic and employment patterns and size, obtained from employers' administrative records. We used multilevel-multinomial logistic regression models to examine cross-sectionally whether these features were associated with social capital between individuals and work units. Fixed effects models were used for longitudinal analyses in a subsample of 12,108 individuals to examine the effects of changes in workplace characteristics on changes in social capital between 2000 and 2004. Results After adjustment for individual characteristics, an increase in work unit size reduced the odds of high levels of individual workplace social capital (odds ratio 0.94, 95% confidence interval 0.91–0.98 per 30-person-year increase). A 20% increase in the proportion of manual and male employees reduced the odds of high levels of social capital by 8% and 23%, respectively. A 30% increase in temporary employees and a 20% increase in employee turnover were associated with 11% (95% confidence interval 1.04–1.17) and 24% (95% confidence interval 1.18–1.30) higher odds of having high levels of social capital respectively). Results from fixed effects models within individuals, adjusted for time-varying covariates, and from social capital of the work units yielded consistent results. Conclusions These findings suggest that workplace social capital is contextually patterned. Workplace demographic and employment patterns as well as the size of the work unit are important in understanding variations in workplace social capital between individuals and workplaces. PMID:23776555

Does Social Capital Explain Community-Level Differences in Organ Donor Designation?

PubMed Central

Ladin, Keren; Wang, Rui; Fleishman, Aaron; Boger, Matthew; Rodrigue, James R

2015-01-01

Context The growing shortage of organs has reached unprecedented levels. Despite national attempts to increase donation and federal laws mandating the equitable allocation of organs, their availability and waiting times vary significantly nationwide. Organ donor designation is a collective action problem in public health, in which the regional organ supply and average waiting times are determined by the willingness of individuals to be listed as organ donors. Social capital increases the probability of collective action by fostering norms of reciprocity and cooperation while increasing costs to defectors. We examine whether social capital and other community-level factors explain geographic variation in organ donor designation rates in Massachusetts. Methods We obtained a sample of 3,281,532 registered drivers in 2010 from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Registry of Motor Vehicles (MassDOT RMV). We then geocoded the registry data, matched them to 4,466 census blocks, and linked them to the 2010 US Census, the American Community Survey (ACS), and other sources to obtain community-level sociodemographic, social capital (residential segregation, voter registration and participation, residential mobility, violent-death rate), and religious characteristics. We used spatial modeling, including lagged variables to account for the effect of adjacent block groups, and multivariate regression analysis to examine the relationship of social capital and community-level characteristics with organ donor designation rates. Findings Block groups with higher levels of social capital, racial homogeneity, income, workforce participation, owner-occupied housing, native-born residents, and white residents had higher rates of organ donor designation (p < 0.001). These factors remained significant in the multivariate model, which explained more than half the geographic variance in organ donor designation (R2 = 0.52). Conclusions The findings suggest that community

The Ethnic Dimensions of Social Capital: How Parental Networks Shape Track Placement in Germany.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werum, Regina E.

This research examined the relationship between parental social capital and children's educational track placement in Germany, and how parental social capital differentially affected the tracking experiences of German and non-German children. Parental social capital was defined as the degree to which adults used family networks or connections to…

Building Social Capital through Action Learning: An Insight into the Entrepreneur

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, David W.; Jones, Oswald; Boles, Kevin

2004-01-01

According to Woolcock, social capital can be defined as the "norms and networks facilitating collective action for mutual benefit". Furthermore, Gabbay and Leenders suggest that social capital offers some potential for integrating the proliferation of network research that has been developed over the last 30 years. Examines an innovatory…

Adult Social Capital and Track Placement of Ethnic Groups in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Simon; Martin, Leslie; Werum, Regina E.

2007-01-01

The dictum that "context matters" notwithstanding, few researchers have focused on how social capital affects educational outcomes for ethnic groups outside of the United States. Using German Socioeconomic Panel (GSOEP) data, analyses highlight the group-specific effects of parental social capital on track placement among 11-16-year-old…

Aboriginal Australians' experience of social capital and its relevance to health and wellbeing in urban settings.

PubMed

Browne-Yung, Kathryn; Ziersch, Anna; Baum, Fran; Gallaher, Gilbert

2013-11-01

Social capital has been linked to physical and mental health. While definitions of social capital vary, all include networks of social relationships and refer to the subsequent benefits and disadvantages accrued to members. Research on social capital for Aboriginal Australians has mainly focused on discrete rural and remote Aboriginal contexts with less known about the features and health and other benefits of social capital in urban settings. This paper presents findings from in-depth interviews with 153 Aboriginal people living in urban areas on their experiences of social capital. Of particular interest was how engagement in bonding and bridging networks influenced health and wellbeing. Employing Bourdieu's relational theory of capital where resources are unequally distributed and reproduced in society we found that patterns of social capital are strongly associated with economic, social and cultural position which in turn reflects the historical experiences of dispossession and disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal Australians. Social capital was also found to both reinforce and influence Aboriginal cultural identity, and had both positive and negative impacts on health and wellbeing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Capital and the Role of Trust in Aspirations for Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fuller, Carol

2014-01-01

This paper considers the role of social capital in the aspirations for higher education of a group of socially disadvantaged girls. Drawing on data from a longitudinal, ethnographic case study of an underperforming secondary school, the paper considers current conceptualisations of social capital and its role in educational ambitions. The paper…

Interracial Bridging Social Capital among Students of a Multicultural University in Malaysia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tamam, Ezhar

2013-01-01

In this study, the influence of interracial socialization and race on interracial bridging social capital among Malaysian students of a multicultural Malaysian public university was examined. Results reveal a narrowed level of interracial bridging social capital among the students. The minority Chinese and the majority Malays do not differ in…

Linking social capital and mortality in the elderly: a Swedish national cohort study.

PubMed

Sundquist, Kristina; Hamano, Tsuyoshi; Li, Xinjun; Kawakami, Naomi; Shiwaku, Kuninori; Sundquist, Jan

2014-07-01

Our objective was to examine the association between neighborhood linking social capital (a concept describing the amount of trust between individuals and societal institutions) and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the elderly. The entire Swedish population aged 65+, a total of 1,517,336 men and women, was followed from 1 January 2002 until death, emigration, or the end of the study on 31 December 2010. Small geographic units were used to define neighborhoods. The definition of linking social capital was based on neighborhood voting participation rates, categorized into three groups. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and between-neighborhood variance in three different models. The results showed an overall association between linking social capital and all-cause mortality. The significant OR of 1.53 in the group with low linking social capital decreased, but remained significant (OR=1.27), after accounting for age, sex, family income, marital status, country of birth, education level, and region of residence. There were also significant associations between linking social capital and cause-specific mortality in coronary heart disease, psychiatric disorders, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, type 2 diabetes, and suicide. There are associations between low linking social capital and mortality from chronic disorders and suicide in the elderly population. Community support for elderly people living in neighborhoods with low levels of linking social capital may need to be strengthened. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Building Social Capital through Online Class Discussions: A Little Freedom Goes a Long Way

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schoenacher, Sheryl R.

2009-01-01

Online class discussions have been studied from many perspectives; however, the literature is lacking that shows instructors how to help online students build social capital. Social capital is an information asset that stems from the interaction between agents. This study examines how social capital can be fostered through online class…

Researching Social Capital in Education: Some Conceptual Considerations Relating to the Contribution of Network Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Moosung

2010-01-01

This article discusses conceptual considerations for social capital research in education from a social network perspective. Specifically, the article raises three key conceptual issues that call for further elaboration of concepts of social capital: redefining potential resources as accessible but un-utilized sources of social capital;…

Climate change policies: The role of democracy and social cognitive capital.

PubMed

Obydenkova, Anastassia V; Salahodjaev, Raufhon

2017-08-01

The impact of democracy on governments' choice of environmental policies has attracted significant academic attention in recent years. However, less attention has been devoted to the role of the social cognitive capital of the national population. Does society's cognitive capital matter in governmental choice regarding environmental policies, if at all? This study addresses this question through a large-N analysis of 94 countries accounting for the role of both political regimes and social capital in governmental choice of climate change policies. We find that higher social cognitive capital within a democratic state radically increases that state's commitment to adopt environmental policies. More specifically, a 1-point increase in the democracy index is associated with nearly 5 points increase in the adoption of the Climate Laws, Institutions and Measures Index (CLIMI). In a similar vein, a 10 points increase in social cognitive capital is associated with a nearly 16 points increase in CLIMI. The findings presented in this study aim to contribute to the ongoing debate on the impact of democracy and the cognitive capital of society on international environmentalism. The findings will also be interesting for scholars working on the impact of political institutional factors and the role of society in environmental policy choices made at the international level. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Building Social Capital through Leadership Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Cynthia

2013-01-01

Social capital, an important mechanism for the creation and maintenance of healthy organizational life, may be developed through initiatives such as leadership development as effective leadership development not only enhances individual effectiveness, but serves to build relationships, coordinate actions, and extend and strengthen the social…

Education, Social Capital and the Accordion Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vorhaus, John

2014-01-01

The "accordion effect" is an effect of language which allows us to describe one and the same thing more or less narrowly. Social capital has been conceived in terms of our access to institutional resources, but also in terms that extend to the levels of trust and related resources found in the social networks we are embedded in. The…

In search of links between social capital, mental health and sociotherapy: a longitudinal study in Rwanda.

PubMed

Verduin, Femke; Smid, Geert E; Wind, Tim R; Scholte, Willem F

2014-11-01

To date, reviews show inconclusive results on the association between social capital and mental health. Evidence that social capital can intentionally be promoted is also scarce. Promotion of social capital may impact post-conflict recovery through both increased social cohesion and better mental health. However, studies on community interventions and social capital have mostly relied on cross-sectional study designs. We present a longitudinal study in Rwanda on the effect on social capital and mental health of sociotherapy, a community-based psychosocial group intervention consisting of fifteen weekly group sessions. We hypothesized that the intervention would impact social capital and, as a result of that, mental health. We used a quasi-experimental study design with measurement points pre- and post-intervention and at eight months follow-up (2007-2008). Considering sex and living situation, we selected 100 adults for our experimental group. We formed a control group of 100 respondents with similar symptom score distribution, age, and sex from a random community sample in the same region. Mental health was assessed by use of the Self Reporting Questionnaire, and social capital through a locally adapted version of the short Adapted Social Capital Assessment Tool. It measures three elements of social capital: cognitive social capital, support, and civic participation. Latent growth models were used to examine whether effects of sociotherapy on mental health and social capital were related. Civic participation increased with 7% in the intervention group versus 2% in controls; mental health improved with 10% versus 5% (both: p < 0.001). Linear changes over time were not significantly correlated. Support and cognitive social capital did not show consistent changes. These findings hint at the possibility to foster social capital and simultaneously impact mental health. Further identification of pathways of influence may contribute to the designing of psychosocial

Toward a neighborhood resource-based theory of social capital for health: can Bourdieu and sociology help?

PubMed

Carpiano, Richard M

2006-01-01

Within the past several years, a considerable body of research on social capital has emerged in public health. Although offering the potential for new insights into how community factors impact health and well being, this research has received criticism for being undertheorized and methodologically flawed. In an effort to address some of these limitations, this paper applies Pierre Bourdieu's (1986) [Bourdieu, P. (1986). Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). New York: Greenwood] social capital theory to create a conceptual model of neighborhood socioeconomic processes, social capital (resources inhered within social networks), and health. After briefly reviewing the social capital conceptualizations of Bourdieu and Putnam, I attempt to integrate these authors' theories to better understand how social capital might operate within neighborhoods or local areas. Next, I describe a conceptual model that incorporates this theoretical integration of social capital into a framework of neighborhood social processes as health determinants. Discussion focuses on the utility of this Bourdieu-based neighborhood social capital theory and model for examining several under-addressed issues of social capital in the neighborhood effects literature and generating specific, empirically testable hypotheses for future research.

Social Capital during the Postsecondary Transition for Young Adults with High Incidence Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trainor, Audrey A.; Morningstar, Mary; Murray, Angela; Kim, Hyejung

2013-01-01

Social capital, relationships, and networks among people who share resources with one another, is essential to the successful transition into adulthood for all individuals--with or without disabilities. Social capital is particularly valuable for youth with disabilities because it has the potential to create access to other forms of capital as…

The Impact of Social Capital on the Employment of College Graduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fengqiao, Yan; Dan, Mao

2015-01-01

This article addresses the impact of social capital on college graduate employment. After reviewing the literature, the authors analyze data collected by Peking University from 34 universities in 2005 and use statistical analysis to clarify the impact of social capital on students' choice of employment or further study, job placement rate,…

The impact of a prevention delivery system on perceived social capital: the PROSPER project.

PubMed

Chilenski, Sarah M; Ang, Patricia M; Greenberg, Mark T; Feinberg, Mark E; Spoth, Richard

2014-04-01

The current study examined the impact of the PROSPER delivery system for evidence-based prevention programs on multiple indicators of social capital in a rural and semi-rural community sample. Utilizing a randomized blocked design, 317 individuals in 28 communities across two states were interviewed at three time points over the course of 2.5 years. Bridging, linking, and the public life skills forms of social capital were assessed via community members' and leaders' reports on the perceptions of school functioning and the Cooperative Extension System, collaboration among organizations, communication and collaboration around youth problems, and other measures. Longitudinal mixed model results indicate significant improvements in some aspects of bridging and linking social capital in PROSPER intervention communities. Given the strength of the longitudinal and randomized research design, results advance prevention science by suggesting that community collaborative prevention initiatives can significantly impact community social capital in a rural and semi-rural sample. Future research should further investigate changes in social capital in different contexts and how changes in social capital relate to other intervention effects.

Building Social Capital in Hightown: The Role of "Confianza" in Latina Immigrants' Social Networks in the New South

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fitts, Shanan; McClure, Greg

2015-01-01

In this article, we examine the social networks of immigrant Latinas from two women's groups in northwestern North Carolina. We explore how participants built social capital and confidence in self through sharing knowledge and experiences in intimate, "mujerista" spaces. We argue that traditional analyses of social capital, framed in…

The pet connection: pets as a conduit for social capital?

PubMed

Wood, Lisa; Giles-Corti, Billie; Bulsara, Max

2005-09-01

There is growing interest across a range of disciplines in the relationship between pets and health, with a range of therapeutic, physiological, psychological and psychosocial benefits now documented. While much of the literature has focused on the individual benefits of pet ownership, this study considered the potential health benefits that might accrue to the broader community, as encapsulated in the construct of social capital. A random survey of 339 adult residents from Perth, Western Australia were selected from three suburbs and interviewed by telephone. Pet ownership was found to be positively associated with some forms of social contact and interaction, and with perceptions of neighbourhood friendliness. After adjustment for demographic variables, pet owners scored higher on social capital and civic engagement scales. The results suggest that pet ownership provides potential opportunities for interactions between neighbours and that further research in this area is warranted. Social capital is another potential mechanism by which pets exert an influence on human health.

(Net)Working out: social capital in a private health club.

PubMed

Crossley, Nick

2008-09-01

In Bowling Alone Robert Putnam considers the possibility that the growth of private health clubs and the rising rates of membership to such clubs might represent a counter-trend to his thesis on the decline in social capital. In this paper I explore this idea using ethnographic data and social network analysis. I show both that and how networks form in health clubs and I discuss the ways in which these networks constitute social capital for their members. In addition, however, I explore the 'dark side' of this form of social capital. I argue that high integration amongst some members of a fitness class can generate a power differential between those members and other, less integrated members who experience this negatively. Furthermore, with an eye on Burt's (2005) important thesis on brokerage and closure, I argue that brokerage between relatively closed clusters of agents can lead to inter-group rivalry and conflict, which, in turn, is experienced negatively by those involved.

Social capital at work as a predictor of employee health: multilevel evidence from work units in Finland.

PubMed

Oksanen, Tuula; Kouvonen, Anne; Kivimäki, Mika; Pentti, Jaana; Virtanen, Marianna; Linna, Anne; Vahtera, Jussi

2008-02-01

The majority of previous research on social capital and health is limited to social capital in residential neighborhoods and communities. Using data from the Finnish 10-Town study we examined social capital at work as a predictor of health in a cohort of 9524 initially healthy local government employees in 1522 work units, who did not change their work unit between 2000 and 2004 and responded to surveys measuring social capital at work and health at both time-points. We used a validated tool to measure social capital with perceptions at the individual level and with co-workers' responses at the work unit level. According to multilevel modeling, a contextual effect of work unit social capital on self-rated health was not accounted for by the individual's socio-demographic characteristics or lifestyle. The odds for health impairment were 1.27 times higher for employees who constantly worked in units with low social capital than for those with constantly high work unit social capital. Corresponding odds ratios for low and declining individual-level social capital varied between 1.56 and 1.78. Increasing levels of individual social capital were associated with sustained good health. In conclusion, this longitudinal multilevel study provides support for the hypothesis that exposure to low social capital at work may be detrimental to the health of employees.

Motivation and Social Capital among prospective blood donors in three large blood centers in Brazil

PubMed Central

Gonçalez, Thelma T.; Di Lorenzo Oliveira, Claudia; Carneiro-Proietti, Anna Barbara F.; Moreno, Elizabeth C.; Miranda, Carolina; Larsen, Nina; Wright, David; Leão, Silvana; Loureiro, Paula; de Almeida-Neto, Cesar; Lopes, Maria-Inês; Proietti, Fernando A.; Custer, Brian; Sabino, Ester

2012-01-01

Background Studies analyzing motivation factors that lead to blood donation have found altruism to be the primary motivation factor; however social capital has not been analyzed in this context. Our study examines the association between motivation factors (altruism, self-interest and response to direct appeal) and social capital (cognitive and structural) across three large blood centers in Brazil. Study Design and Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 7,635 donor candidates from October 15 through November 20, 2009. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires on demographics, previous blood donation, HIV testing and knowledge, social capital and donor motivations. Enrollment was determined prior to the donor screening process. Results Among participants, 43.5% and 41.7% expressed high levels of altruism and response to direct appeal respectively, while only 26.9% expressed high levels of self-interest. More high self-interest was observed at Hemope-Recife (41.7%). Of participants, 37.4% expressed high levels of cognitive social capital while 19.2% expressed high levels of structural social capital. More high cognitive and structural social capital was observed at Hemope-Recife (47.3% and 21.3%, respectively). High cognitive social capital was associated with high levels of altruism, self-interest and response to direct appeal. Philanthropic and high social altruism was associated with high levels of altruism and response to direct appeal. Conclusion Cognitive and structural social capital and social altruism are associated with altruism and response to direct appeal, while only cognitive social capital is associated with self-interest. Designing marketing campaigns with these aspects in mind may help blood banks attract potential blood donors more efficiently. PMID:22998740

Motivation and social capital among prospective blood donors in three large blood centers in Brazil.

PubMed

Gonçalez, Thelma T; Di Lorenzo Oliveira, Claudia; Carneiro-Proietti, Anna Barbara F; Moreno, Elizabeth C; Miranda, Carolina; Larsen, Nina; Wright, David; Leão, Silvana; Loureiro, Paula; de Almeida-Neto, Cesar; Lopes, Maria-Inês; Proietti, Fernando A; Custer, Brian; Sabino, Ester

2013-06-01

Studies analyzing motivation factors that lead to blood donation have found altruism to be the primary motivation factor; however, social capital has not been analyzed in this context. Our study examines the association between motivation factors (altruism, self-interest, and response to direct appeal) and social capital (cognitive and structural) across three large blood centers in Brazil. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 7635 donor candidates from October 15 through November 20, 2009. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires on demographics, previous blood donation, human immunodeficiency virus testing and knowledge, social capital, and donor motivations. Enrollment was determined before the donor screening process. Among participants, 43.5 and 41.7% expressed high levels of altruism and response to direct appeal, respectively, while only 26.9% expressed high levels of self-interest. More high self-interest was observed at Hemope-Recife (41.7%). Of participants, 37.4% expressed high levels of cognitive social capital while 19.2% expressed high levels of structural social capital. More high cognitive and structural social capital was observed at Hemope-Recife (47.3 and 21.3%, respectively). High cognitive social capital was associated with high levels of altruism, self-interest, and response to direct appeal. Philanthropic and high social altruism were associated with high levels of altruism and response to direct appeal. Cognitive and structural social capital and social altruism are associated with altruism and response to direct appeal, while only cognitive social capital is associated with self-interest. Designing marketing campaigns with these aspects in mind may help blood banks attract potential blood donors more efficiently. © 2012 American Association of Blood Banks.

Assets and Affect in the Study of Social Capital in Rural Communities

PubMed Central

Phillips, Martin

2015-01-01

Abstract Shucksmith (2012) has recently suggested that rural research might be refreshed by incorporating theoretical insights that have emerged through a renewal of class analysis. This article seeks to advance this proposed research agenda by exploring the concept of asset‐based class analysis and its association with the concept of social capital. The article explores connections between social capital, class analysis and understandings of community, noting how all have been associated with long running and unresolved debates. Attention is drawn to the problems of modernist legislative approaches to these debates and the value of adopting more interpretive perspectives. A distinction between ‘infrastructural’ and ‘culturalist’ interpretations of social capital is explored in relation to ‘asset‐based’ theorisations of class and culture. It is argued that an infrastructural conception of social capital might usefully be employed in association with a disaggregated conception of cultural capital that includes consideration of emotion and affect, as well as institutional, objectified and technical assets. These arguments are explored using studies of rural communities, largely within Britain. PMID:27563158

Iranian senior nursing managers’ experiences and understanding of social capital in the nursing profession

PubMed Central

Manoochehri, Houman; Lolaty, Hamideh Azimi; Hassani, Parkhideh; Arbon, Paul; Shorofi, Seyed Afshin

2014-01-01

Background: This study aimed to explore the role of social capital within the context of the nursing profession in Iran, based on the experience and perspectives of senior nursing managers. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using the Graneheim and Lundman content analysis method. Using purposive sampling, 26 senior nursing managers from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, the College of Nursing and Midwifery, the Iranian Nursing Organization, nursing associations and hospitals were selected, who participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews. Results: Content analysis revealed three main themes (social capital deficit, applying multiple strategies, and cultivating social capital) as well as eight categories which included professional remoteness, deficiency in professional potency, deficiency in professional exchanges, accumulation of personal social capital, accumulation of professional social capital, socio-political strategies, psychological–cognitive strategies, and ethical/spiritual strategies. The results show the perceived level of social capital in nursing in Iran, the application of some key strategies, and the principal rewards accrued from active participation in improving the social capital in nursing environment and profession. Conclusions: Efforts should be made to strengthen the social capital and apply key strategies with the aim of achieving personal and professional benefits for nurses, their patients, and co-workers, and for the delivery of healthcare in general. In this respect, the role of senior managers is vital in stimulating collective action within the profession, planning for the development of a culture of participation in healthcare services, helping to develop all fields of the profession, and developing and strengthening intra- and inter-professional exchanges and networking. PMID:25400673

The Construct Validation of a Questionnaire of Social and Cultural Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pishghadam, Reza; Noghani, Mohsen; Zabihi, Reza

2011-01-01

The present study was conducted to construct and validate a questionnaire of social and cultural capital in the foreign language context of Iran. To this end, a questionnaire was designed by picking up the most frequently-used indicators of social and cultural capital. The Factorability of the intercorrelation matrix was measured by two tests:…

Investigation of relationship between social capital and quality of life in female headed families

PubMed Central

Rimaz, Shahnaz; Dastoorpoor, Maryam; Vesali, Samira; Saiepour, Narges; Nedjat, Saharnaz; Sadeghi, Masoumeh; Merghati Khoei, Effat

2015-01-01

Background: Although most studies on female-headed families focus on women's access to social support, the associations between social capital and quality of life in these families are unclear in many societies (such as Iran). This study aimed to determine the associations between social capital and quality of life in Iranian female headed families. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 152 female-headed households supported by Tehran Municipality, district 9 from April 2011 to July 2012. Convenience sampling was employed. Data were collected using demographic questionnaire, the Iranian version of World Health Organization Quality of Life, and the Word Bank Social Capital. Descriptive and multiple regression methods were used to analyze the data. Results: The mean±SD age of participants was 50.8±13.8 years. Findings revealed that in quality of life, the domains of environment health and social relation received the lowest (9.87 ± 2.41) and the highest (12.61 ±3.43) scores respectively; and with respect to social capital, membership in groups and social trust had the least (19.61 ± 17.11) and the most (51.04 ± 17.37) scores, respectively. The multiple regression model revealed a significant positive association between total score of the quality of life and the total score for the social capital (p< 0.001). Conclusion: Findings suggest that quality of life of female-headed families and social capital domains are strongly related. This means that by improving the social capital, women’s life can also be improved. PMID:26793661

Social Capital and Public Participation on Planning in Coastal Area Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prayitno, Gunawan; Syaifurridzal, M.

2017-07-01

Indonesia is one country to the world that rich with natural resources, especially on marine and coastal resources. But, the condition of rural inhabitants in coastal area still low in economic condition and public facilities and others not suitable for good living environment. The goal of this paper is to integrate the concept of social capital and public participation in the community activities. Social capital, which is interpreted with the term of the trust, networks and norm as governing human behavior is significant to motivate and coordinate collective action towards collaboration. Collective action or collaboration among people in the communities could solve the problem together. In the Grootaert research, with the title “Social Capital, Household Welfare and Poverty in Indonesia” (1999) found that active participation in decision making and memberships in heterogeneous organizations further reduce the likelihood to be poor. In this research, we found the same from Grootaert finding, that social capital (trust) has positive impact to community activities (path point 0.56) in this research location.

Suicidal behaviours in adolescents in Nova Scotia, Canada: protective associations with measures of social capital.

PubMed

Langille, Donald B; Asbridge, Mark; Kisely, Steve; Rasic, Daniel

2012-10-01

Few studies of adolescent suicidality have examined its associations with social capital. We explored associations of measures of individual level social capital with self-reported suicide ideation and suicide attempt in adolescents in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, controlling for other factors known to be associated with adolescent suicidality. We surveyed 1,597 grade 10-12 students at three high schools in 2006 using self-completion questionnaires. Both sexes were combined for analysis. Outcome measures were suicidal ideation and attempt in the previous year. Measures of social capital included perceptions of trustworthiness and helpfulness of others at school, frequency of religious attendance and participation in extracurricular activities. Logistic regressions were carried out to determine associations of social capital with suicidality while controlling for other factors. Perceived trustworthiness and helpfulness were protective for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt in the previous year. In adjusted analyses, there were interactions of gender and social capital-females reporting more social capital were more protected from suicide attempt relative to males with similar levels of social capital. This study provides initial evidence of protective associations of individual level social capital with adolescent suicidality. Our findings suggest that among adolescents low social capital as measured by perceptions of trust and helpfulness of others at school may be a warning sign for suicidality, particularly for females. It may be helpful to inquire of young people how they perceive the trustworthiness and helpfulness of their school environment as a measure of how supportive that environment might be to them when they are facing challenges to their mental health.

Neighbourhood social capital as a moderator between individual cognitions and sports behaviour among Dutch adolescents.

PubMed

Prins, R G; Beenackers, M A; Boog, M C; Van Lenthe, F J; Brug, J; Oenema, A

2014-03-01

This study aimed to explore whether individual cognitions and neighbourhood social capital strengthen each other in their relation with engaging in sports at least three times per week. Cross-sectional analyses on data from the last wave of the YouRAction trial (2009-2010, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; baseline response: 98%) were conducted. In total 1129 had data on the last wave questionnaire (93%) and 832 of them had complete data on a self-administered questionnaire on frequency of sports participation, perceived neighbourhood social capital, cognitions (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and intention toward sport participation) and demographics. Ecometric methods were used to aggregate perceived neighbourhood social capital to the neighbourhood level. Multilevel logistic regression analyses (neighbourhood and individual as levels) were conducted to examine associations of cognitions, neighbourhood social capital and the social capital by individual cognition interaction with fit norm compliance. If the interaction was significant, simple slopes analyses were conducted to decompose interaction effects. It was found that neighbourhood social capital was significantly associated with fit norm compliance (OR: 5.40; 95% CI: 1.13-25.74). Moreover, neighbourhood social capital moderated the association of attitude, perceived behavioural control and intention with fit norm compliance. The simple slope analyses visualized that the associations of cognitions with fit norm compliance were stronger in case of more neighbourhood social capital. Hence, higher levels of neighbourhood social capital strengthen the associations of attitude, perceived behavioural control and intention in their association with fit norm compliance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The association between social capital and HIV treatment outcomes in South Africa.

PubMed

Mukoswa, Grace Musanse; Charalambous, Salome; Nelson, Gill

2017-01-01

HIV treatment has reduced morbidity and mortality. By 2012, it was estimated that 60.4% of eligible South Africans accessed antiretroviral treatment; however, treatment adherence and retention remain the greatest challenges. There is a growing belief that social capital, seen as "the features of social organization that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit", is important in promoting HIV treatment retention. The aim of this study was to establish whether social capital is associated with HIV treatment outcomes. This was a cross-sectional analysis of data from a cohort study that investigated how patient outcomes were linked to clinical characteristics, and included exploratory factor and logistic regression analysis. Data from 943 patients were analyzed. Outcomes for the analysis were visit non-adherence, unsuppressed viral load, and treatment failure. Sixteen percent of patients (n = 118) had unsuppressed viral loads; 19% (n = 179) were non-adherent; and 32% (n = 302) experienced treatment failure. Social capital had two dimensions that were described by two factors. There was no association between either factor and visit non-adherence. Social capital factor 1 was marginally associated with lower risks of unsuppressed viral load and treatment failure at 12 months (OR = 0.78; 95% CI = 0.58-1.03 and OR = 0.76; 95% CI = 0.62-0.93, respectively); but not with visit non-adherence (OR = 0.93; 95% CI = 0.71-1.22). After controlling for confounders, the odds of both unsuppressed viral load and treatment failure decreased with an increase in social capital factor 1. This study suggests that social capital, in terms of the number of groups to which an HIV-infected person belongs, the diversity of the groups, availability of child support, and time available for community projects, is protective against poor HIV treatment outcomes. Implementers and policy makers in the areas of HIV treatment and prevention need to consider the inclusion of social capital in the design

How can a social capital framework guide managers to develop positive nurse relationships and patient outcomes?

PubMed

Hofmeyer, Anne T

2013-07-01

To examine how social capital could be a mediating factor through which managers' leadership positively influences relationships with nurses and quality patient outcomes. The relationship between leadership, what managers do and optimal outcomes for patients are well established. What is not yet clear is an understanding about specific mechanisms by which managers' leadership builds social capital to foster cohesive team relationships and quality patient outcomes. Conceptual links are drawn between human capital and leadership styles of managers. Social capital is introduced and contextualized through exemplars from a Canadian study. Exemplars illustrate how the presence or absence of social capital influenced nurses' productivity to deliver quality patient care. Nurse researchers could use the Social Capital Framework (SCF) to examine the mediating role of social capital in relationships between managers and nurses. These findings could inform managers' strategies to foster positive networks and norms between nurses to deliver quality patient care. Leadership that uses a framework of social capital will enhance team relationships between nurses. Enhanced cohesion will have a positive impact on patient outcomes. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Social capital, collective action, and communal grazing lands in Uganda

PubMed Central

Call, Maia; Jagger, Pamela

2018-01-01

Recent scholars have found that collective action can be harnessed to sustainably manage common property, contrary to longstanding hypotheses that without effective external regulation community members will exploit communal resources. Researchers have also found that social capital, in addition to biophysical conditions and community attributes, is an important element of successful collective action. However, few studies exploring this topic have specifically examined communal grazing land, which is a critical component of rural livelihoods in many parts of the developing world. To address this gap, we explore the role that collective action plays in maintaining communal grazing lands through bridging, bonding, and linking social capital. In cases where the community does have communal grazing lands, we also explore the role of social capital in determining the condition of the land and the inclusiveness of access. Our analyses draw upon a community-level dataset composed of Uganda RePEAT survey data linked with high resolution gridded socio-environmental data. We observe that strong community bonds are associated with higher odds of successful collective action. However, increased links to external market forces may decrease the odds of successful collective action. These findings provide additional evidence for the complex relationship between social capital, collective action, and common property natural resource management. PMID:29377036

Social capital and health in Kenya: A multilevel analysis.

PubMed

Musalia, John

2016-10-01

Despite the acknowledgment that social capital is an important predictor of good health and overall well being in wealthy countries, little empirical research has been conducted in developing countries, particularly in Africa, to examine this relationship. This study examines the association between cognitive (trust) and structural (membership in organization) social capital on health at both the individual and contextual levels. Health was measured using answers to a subjective question on physical health and anxiety/worry suffered by individuals within the last 30 days. This study utilized Afrobarometer data collected in Kenya in 2005 to examine this relationship using multilevel logistic statistical modeling. Upon controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors, social capital was found to be significantly associated with anxiety/worry and physical health in Kenya. Membership in organizations was associated with increased odds (OR = 1.34, 95%CI: 1.02-1.76) of physical health problems, while individual trust was associated with a 6% (OR = 0.94, 95%CI: 0.90-0.99) reduction in the likelihood of physical health problems. Conversely, generalized trust was associated with a 37% reduction in the odds (OR = 0.63, 95%CI: 0.40-0.99) of anxiety/worry, while individual trust was associated with a 5% reduction (OR = 0.95, 95%CI: 0.90-1.00) of anxiety/worry. With the exception of membership in an organization that exacerbates physical health, both individual level trust and generalized trust were associated with better health outcomes in Kenya. The availability of social organizations at the contextual level was associated with worsening anxiety/worry although the effect size was small. These results show that social capital, particularly trust, is a concept that can apply to different social and cultural contexts and can potentially be harnessed to improve health in settings that suffer from resource poverty. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Living with disasters: social capital for disaster governance.

PubMed

Melo Zurita, Maria de Lourdes; Cook, Brian; Thomsen, Dana C; Munro, Paul G; Smith, Timothy F; Gallina, John

2017-10-24

This paper explores how social networks and bonds within and across organisations shape disaster operations and strategies. Local government disaster training exercises serve as a window through which to view these relations, and 'social capital' is used as an analytic for making sense of the human relations at the core of disaster management operations. These elements help to expose and substantiate the often intangible relations that compose the culture that exists, and that is shaped by preparations for disasters. The study reveals how this social capital has been generated through personal interactions, which are shared among disaster managers across different organisations and across 'levels' within those organisations. Recognition of these 'group resources' has significant implications for disaster management in which conducive social relations have become paramount. The paper concludes that socio-cultural relations, as well as a people-centred approach to preparations, appear to be effective means of readying for, and ultimately responding to, disasters. © 2017 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2017.

Does workplace social capital associate with hazardous drinking among Chinese rural-urban migrant workers?

PubMed

Gao, Junling; Weaver, Scott R; Fua, Hua; Pan, Zhigang

2014-01-01

The present study sought to investigate the associations between workplace social capital and hazardous drinking (HD) among Chinese rural-urban migrant workers (RUMW). A cross sectional study with a multi-stage stratified sampling procedure was conducted in Shanghai during July 2012 to January 2013. In total, 5,318 RUMWs from 77 workplaces were involved. Work-place social capital was assessed using a validated and psychometrically tested eight-item measure. The Chinese version of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess hazardous drinking. Control variables included gender, age, marital status, education level, salary, and current smoking. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to test whether individual- and workplace-level social capital was associated with hazardous drinking. Overall, the prevalence of HD was 10.6%. After controlling for individual-level socio-demographic and lifestyle variables, compared to workers in the highest quartile of individual-level social capital, the odds of HD for workers in the three bottom quartiles were 1.13(95%CI: 1.04-1.23), 1.17(95%CI: 1.05-1.56) and 1.26(95%CI: 1.13-1.72), respectively. However, contrary to hypothesis, there was no relationship between workplace-level social capital and hazardous drinking. Higher individual-level social capital may protect against HD among Chinese RUMWs. Interventions to build individual social capital among RUMWs in China may help reduce HD among this population.

Educational intervention and functional decline among older people: the modifying effects of social capital.

PubMed

Poulsen, Tine; Siersma, Volkert Dirk; Lund, Rikke; Christensen, Ulla; Vass, Mikkel; Avlund, Kirsten

2014-05-01

To analyse if social capital modifies the effect of educational intervention of home visitors on mobility disability. Earlier studies have found that educational intervention of home visitors has a positive effect of older peoples' functional decline, but how social capital might modify this effect is still unknown. We used the Danish Intervention Study on Preventive Home Visits - a prospective cohort study including 2863 75-year-olds and 1171 80-year-olds in 34 Danish municipalities - to analyse the modifying effect of different aspects of social capital on the effect of educational intervention of home visitors on functional decline. The three measures of social capital (bonding, bridging, and linking) were measured at contextual level. Data was analysed with multivariate linear regression model using generalised estimating equations to account for repeated measurements. We found that 80-year-olds living in municipalities with high bonding (B=0.089, p=0.0279) and high linking (B=0.0929; p=0.0217) had significant better mobility disability in average at 3-year follow up if their municipality had received intervention. With the unique design of the Danish Intervention Study on Preventive Home Visits and with theory-based measures of social capital that distinguish between three aspects of social capital with focus on older people, this study contributes to the literature about the role of social capital for interventions on mobility disability.

Surviving utopia: Energy, social capital, and international migration in Ixcan, Guatemala

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Matthew John

Mounting peasant impoverishment in Guatemala comes face to face with growing ecological impoverishment. Abysmal living standards for Guatemala's majority results from highly skewed land distribution, rapid population growth, and a brutal civil war, which lasted almost four decades and laid waste to many rural communities and fields. In the face of such adversity, Guatemalans migrate to remaining forested frontiers and make longer journeys to North America in search of work. In an attempt to understand and improve natural resource use, especially firewood, I uncover how networks of social relations (social capital) and international migration influence livelihoods in agricultural communities along a forested frontier. I used both qualitative and quantitative methods to gather information about the lives of residents in four agricultural villages in Ixcan, Guatemala. The results from extended fieldwork illustrate how high levels of social capital can benefit the lives of rural residents. I argue that development programs can take advantage of existing high levels of social capital and take measures to create social capital where it is lacking to ensure the successful implementation of development programs. I also discuss firewood management in each community and demonstrate the disjuncture between local firewood use and national energy plans. Finally, I show how migrants and the money they send home from North America radically alter land use and land distribution in this part of rural Guatemala. My study reveals the need to examine the linkages between large-scale international migration, social capital, and the environment in communities that rely on the land for survival.

Building on Leadership and Social Capital to Create Change in 2 Urban Communities

PubMed Central

Farquhar, Stephanie A.; Michael, Yvonne L.; Wiggins, Noelle

2005-01-01

There has been an appeal to reduce health inequities by increasing community involvement and social capital. Poder es Salud/Power for Health is a community-based participatory prevention research project that seeks to address health disparities in the African American and Latino communities by enhancing community-level social capital. We provide specific examples of how this intervention uses community health workers and popular education to reduce language and cultural barriers and enhance community social capital. Although the communities share fundamental challenges related to health disparities, the ways in which the Latino and African American communities identify health concerns, create solutions, and think about social capital vary. Members of the project are working together to identify opportunities for cross-cultural collaboration. PMID:15798115

Social Capital and Economic Development in Regional Australia: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodhouse, Andrew

2006-01-01

This article reports the findings of a case study of social capital and economic development conducted in two towns in regional Australia between 2001 and 2002. The hypothesis driving the research states that a town displaying a high level of social capital will also display a high level of economic development, while a town with a low level of…

Strengthening the Referral System through Social Capital: A Qualitative Inquiry in Ghana.

PubMed

Amoah, Padmore Adusei; Phillips, David R

2017-10-25

The referral system in health care has been noted as very influential in determining which services are accessed and when. Nonetheless, existing studies have relied on specific measurable factors relating to health personnel, transportation and communication infrastructure, and finance to explain the challenges facing the referral policy in developing countries. While this is understandable, the role of social capital remains mostly uncharted even though it is implicit in the well-known lay referral system. Using various facets of the social capital concept, this paper empirically examines how the resources embedded in both structural and cognitive aspects of social relationships influence knowledge of, and adherence to, referral policy. This study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with 79 adults in the Ashanti Region of Ghana in 2015. Of the 79 participants, 28 lived in urban areas and 51 in rural localities. Eight health personnel and eight community leaders also contributed to the study. Additionally, six focus group discussions were held. The findings indicated that both cognitive and structural forms of social capital considerably underpinned the ability and willingness of people to adhere to the referral process. Moreover, the role of social capital was double-barrelled. It contributed in a significant way to encouraging or dissuading potential patients from rightly embracing the policy. In addition, precepts of social capital reinforced both positive and adverse effects of the other determinants of the policy such as finance and transportation. However, the magnitude of such impact was linked to how 'resourceful' and 'trustworthy' one's available social acquaintances were. The paper suggests that a cautious engagement with social capital will make it a potentially powerful tool for understanding the gaps in and improving the effectiveness of referral policy.

The Role of Social Capital in African-American Women's Use of Mammography

PubMed Central

Dean, Lorraine; Subramanian, SV; Williams, David R.; Armstrong, Katrina; Charles, Camille Zubrinsky; Kawachi, Ichiro

2014-01-01

Black/African-American women are more likely to get breast cancer at a young age and/or be diagnosed at a late disease stage, pointing to a greater need to promote mammography for Black women at earlier ages than are currently recommended. This study explores how perceived neighborhood social capital, that is, perceptions of how tight-knit a neighborhood is and what power that confers to neighborhood members, relates to use of mammography for Black women in Philadelphia. Living in a community with tight social ties (social cohesion) or that have a collective motivation for community change (collective efficacy) may increase the likelihood that an individual woman in that community will hear health messages from other community members and neighbors (diffusion of information) and will have access to health-related resources that allow them to engage in healthy behaviors. No prior studies have explored the role of social capital in decisions for mammography use. Using multilevel logistic regression, we analyzed self-report of mammography in the past year for 2,586, Black women over age 40 across 381 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA census tracts. Our study included individual demographic and aggregates of individual-level social capital data from the Public Health Management Corporation's 2004, 2006, and 2008 Community Health Database waves, and 2000 US Census sociodemographic characteristics. Individual perceptions that a Black woman's neighborhood had high social capital, specifically collective efficacy, had a positive and statistically significant association with mammography use (OR=1.40, CI: 1.05, 1.85). Our findings suggest that an individual woman's perception of greater neighborhood social capital may be related to increased mammography use. Although this analysis could not determine the direction of causality, it suggests that social capital may play a role in cancer preventive screening for African-American women in Philadelphia, which warrants further study

Strengthening the Referral System through Social Capital: A Qualitative Inquiry in Ghana

PubMed Central

Amoah, Padmore Adusei; Phillips, David R.

2017-01-01

The referral system in health care has been noted as very influential in determining which services are accessed and when. Nonetheless, existing studies have relied on specific measurable factors relating to health personnel, transportation and communication infrastructure, and finance to explain the challenges facing the referral policy in developing countries. While this is understandable, the role of social capital remains mostly uncharted even though it is implicit in the well-known lay referral system. Using various facets of the social capital concept, this paper empirically examines how the resources embedded in both structural and cognitive aspects of social relationships influence knowledge of, and adherence to, referral policy. This study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with 79 adults in the Ashanti Region of Ghana in 2015. Of the 79 participants, 28 lived in urban areas and 51 in rural localities. Eight health personnel and eight community leaders also contributed to the study. Additionally, six focus group discussions were held. The findings indicated that both cognitive and structural forms of social capital considerably underpinned the ability and willingness of people to adhere to the referral process. Moreover, the role of social capital was double-barrelled. It contributed in a significant way to encouraging or dissuading potential patients from rightly embracing the policy. In addition, precepts of social capital reinforced both positive and adverse effects of the other determinants of the policy such as finance and transportation. However, the magnitude of such impact was linked to how ‘resourceful’ and ‘trustworthy’ one’s available social acquaintances were. The paper suggests that a cautious engagement with social capital will make it a potentially powerful tool for understanding the gaps in and improving the effectiveness of referral policy. PMID:29068366

Growing Social Capital in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arriaza, Gilberto; Rocha, Christie

2016-01-01

Sharing school supplies appears, indeed, a simple, even an irrelevant routine activity, but upon closer examination one realizes that deeper and complex issues are at stake. This article aims at explaining how seemingly uneventful classroom activities contain the potential to building social capital in the classroom, which occurs when and if…

Modeling Social Capital as Dynamic Networks to Promote Access to Oral Healthcare

PubMed Central

Northridge, Mary E.; Kunzel, Carol; Zhang, Qiuyi; Kum, Susan S.; Gilbert, Jessica L.; Jin, Zhu; Metcalf, Sara S.

2016-01-01

Social capital, as comprised of human connections in social networks and their associated benefits, is closely related to the health of individuals, communities, and societies at large. For disadvantaged population groups such as older adults and racial/ethnic minorities, social capital may play a particularly critical role in mitigating the negative effects and reinforcing the positive effects on health. In this project, we model social capital as both cause and effect by simulating dynamic networks. Informed in part by a community-based health promotion program, an agent-based model is contextualized in a GIS environment to explore the complexity of social disparities in oral and general health as experienced at the individual, interpersonal, and community scales. This study provides the foundation for future work investigating how health and healthcare accessibility may be influenced by social networks. PMID:27668298

Modeling Social Capital as Dynamic Networks to Promote Access to Oral Healthcare.

PubMed

Wang, Hua; Northridge, Mary E; Kunzel, Carol; Zhang, Qiuyi; Kum, Susan S; Gilbert, Jessica L; Jin, Zhu; Metcalf, Sara S

2016-01-01

Social capital, as comprised of human connections in social networks and their associated benefits, is closely related to the health of individuals, communities, and societies at large. For disadvantaged population groups such as older adults and racial/ethnic minorities, social capital may play a particularly critical role in mitigating the negative effects and reinforcing the positive effects on health. In this project, we model social capital as both cause and effect by simulating dynamic networks. Informed in part by a community-based health promotion program, an agent-based model is contextualized in a GIS environment to explore the complexity of social disparities in oral and general health as experienced at the individual, interpersonal, and community scales. This study provides the foundation for future work investigating how health and healthcare accessibility may be influenced by social networks.

Can high social capital at the workplace buffer against stress and musculoskeletal pain?: Cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Jay, Kenneth; Andersen, Lars L

2018-03-01

Work-related musculoskeletal pain and stress are both highly prevalent in the working environment and relate well to the biopsychosocial model. While the onset of musculoskeletal pain is often dependent on the biological element of the biopsychosocial model, chronic pain is often influenced by psychological and social factors. Similarly, stress is also influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. This study investigates the possibility of social capital being a buffer for stress and musculoskeletal pain in a group of female laboratory technicians.Female laboratory technicians (n = 500) replied to questions about stress (Cohens Perceived Stress Scale-10), musculoskeletal pain (0-10 visual analog scale), and social capital at the workplace (bonding [in teams], bridging [between teams], and linking [between teams and leaders]). Outcome variables were stress and musculoskeletal pain and the predictor variable was social capital. General linear models tested the association of the 3 types of social capital (predictor variables) with stress and pain (mutually adjusted outcome variables). Analyses were controlled for age, lifestyle (body mass index, smoking), seniority, and working hours per week.For stress as outcome, moderate and high bonding social capital were different from low social capital with -2.04 (95% confidence interval [CI] -3.33 to -0.76) and -4.56 (95% CI -5.84 to -3.28) points on the Perceived Stress Scale of 0 to 42, respectively. Similarly, moderate and high bridging social capital were different from low social capital with -1.50 (95% CI -2.76 to -0.24) and -4.39 (95% CI -5.75 to -3.03), respectively. For linking, only high social was significantly different from low with -2.94 (95% CI -4.28 to -1.60). None of the 3 types of social capital was associated with musculoskeletal pain.Higher levels of social capital at the workplace appear to buffer against stress, but not against musculoskeletal pain. Intervention studies should

Social capital and HIV/AIDS in the United States: Knowledge, gaps, and future directions.

PubMed

Ransome, Yusuf; Thurber, Katherine A; Swen, Melody; Crawford, Natalie D; German, Danielle; Dean, Lorraine T

2018-08-01

Social capital is a well-established predictor of several behavioral health outcomes. However, we know less about the relationship with prevention, transmission, and treatment of HIV/AIDS outcomes in the United States (US). In 2017, we conducted a scoping review of empirical studies investigating the relationships between social capital and HIV/AIDS in the US by searching PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Sociological Abstracts with no restriction on publication date, for articles in English language. Sample search terms included: HIV infections OR HIV OR AIDS OR acquired immunodeficiency syndrome OR human immunodeficiency virus AND social capital OR social control, informal OR social participation OR social cohesion OR generalized trust OR social trust OR collective efficacy OR community mob* OR civic participation. We identified 1581 unique manuscripts and reviewed 13 based on eligibility criteria. The earliest eligible study was published in 2003. More than half (n=7/13) focused on HIV or AIDS diagnosis, then prescribing ART and/or adherence (n=5/13), then linkage and or engagement in HIV care (n=4/13). Fifty eight percent (58%) documented a protective association between at least one social capital measure and an HIV/AIDS outcome. Seven studies used validated social capital scales, however there was substantial variation in conceptual/operational definitions and measures used. Most studies were based on samples from the Northeast. Three studies directly focused on or stratified analyses among subgroups or key populations. Studies were cross-sectional, so causal inference is unknown. Our review suggests that social capital may be an important determinant of HIV/AIDS prevention, transmission, and treatment outcomes. We recommend future research assess these associations using qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, longitudinally, examine differences across subgroups and geographic region, include a wider range of social capital constructs, and

Religion as a resource for positive youth development: religion, social capital, and moral outcomes.

PubMed

Ebstyne King, Pamela; Furrow, James L

2004-09-01

Although existing literature demonstrates that developmental benefits are associated with religion for adolescents, little is understood about the dynamics of this relationship. Drawing on social capital theory, this study tested a conceptual model exploring socially embedded religious influences on moral outcomes. A three-dimensional model of social capital demonstrated how social interaction, trust, and shared vision enable social ties associated with religiousness to influence moral behavior. Structural equation modeling was used with data gathered from 735 urban youths to test a proposed model of the effects of religiousness on moral outcomes. Results suggested that religiously active youths report higher levels of social capital resources and that the influence of adolescent religiousness on moral outcomes was mediated through social capital resources. Suggestions for further research and implications for faith-based youth development organizations are considered. Copyright 2004 American Psychological Association

Social Capital is Associated With Late HIV Diagnosis: An Ecological Analysis.

PubMed

Ransome, Yusuf; Galea, Sandro; Pabayo, Roman; Kawachi, Ichiro; Braunstein, Sarah; Nash, Denis

2016-10-01

Late HIV diagnosis is associated with higher medical costs, early mortality among individuals, and HIV transmission in the population. Even under optimal configurations of stable or declining HIV incidence and increase in HIV case findings, no change in proportion of late HIV diagnosis is projected after year 2019. We investigated the association among social capital, gender, and late HIV diagnosis. We conduct ecological analyses (ZIP code, N = 166) using negative binomial regression of gender-specific rates of late HIV diagnoses (an AIDS defining illness or a CD4 count ≤200 cell/μL within 12 months of a new HIV diagnosis) in 2005 and 2006 obtained from the New York City HIV Surveillance Registry, and social capital indicators (civic engagement, political participation, social cohesion, and informal social control) from the New York Social Indicators Survey, 2004. Overall, low to high political participation and social cohesion corresponded with significant (P < 0.0001) decreasing trends in late HIV diagnosis rates. Among men [relative risk (RR) = 0.66, 95% CI: (0.47 to 0.98)] and women [RR = 0.43, 95% CI: (0.28 to 0.67)], highest political participation was associated with lower relative odds of late HIV diagnosis, independent of income inequality. Highest informal social control [RR = 0.67, 95% CI: (0.48 to 0.93)] among men only and moderate social cohesion [RR = 0.71, 95% CI: (0.55 to 0.92)] among women only were associated with the outcome adjusting for social fragmentation, income inequality, and racial composition. The magnitude of association between social capital and late HIV diagnosis varies by gender and by social capital indicator.

Social Capital is Associated with Late HIV Diagnosis: An Ecological Analysis

PubMed Central

Galea, Sandro; Pabayo, Roman; Kawachi, Ichiro; Braunstein, Sarah; Nash, Denis

2016-01-01

Background Late HIV diagnosis is associated with higher medical costs, early mortality among individuals, and HIV transmission in the population. Even under optimal configurations of stable or declining HIV incidence and increase in HIV case findings, no change in proportion of late HIV diagnosis is projected after year 2019. We investigated the association among social capital, gender, and late HIV diagnosis. Methods We conduct ecological analyses (ZIP code, N=166) using negative binomial regression of gender-specific rates of late HIV diagnoses (an AIDS defining illness or a CD4 count ≤200 cell/µL within 12 months of a new HIV diagnosis) in 2005 and 2006 obtained from the New York City HIV Surveillance Registry, and social capital indicators (civic engagement, political participation, social cohesion, and informal social control) from the New York Social Indicators Survey, 2004. Results Overall, low to high political participation and social cohesion corresponded with significant (p<.0001) decreasing trends in late HIV diagnosis rates. Among men (RR=0.66, 95% CI [0.47—0.98]) and women (RR=0.43, 95% CI [0.28—0.67]), highest political participation was associated with lower relative odds of late HIV diagnosis, independent of income inequality. Highest informal social control (RR=0.67, 95% CI [0.48—0.93]) among men only, and moderate social cohesion (RR=0.71, 95% CI [0.55—0.92]) among women only, were associated with the outcome adjusting for social fragmentation, income inequality, and racial composition. Discussion The magnitude of association between social capital and late HIV diagnosis varies by gender and by social capital indicator. PMID:27632146

Association between maternal social capital and infant complementary feeding practices in rural Ethiopia.

PubMed

Kang, Yunhee; Kim, Jane; Seo, Eunkyo

2018-01-01

Few studies have explored the potential of social capital in improving child nutritional status; however, most components of pathways between social capital and nutritional status have remained unexplained. Complementary feeding practice is a strong mediator of child nutritional status. This study examined the association between complementary feeding practice and maternal social capital in rural Ethiopia, using cross-sectional data of infant aged 6-12 months and their mother pairs (n = 870). The Short Social Capital Assessment Tool was used to assess maternal structural (i.e., community group membership, having emotional/economic support from individuals, and citizenship activities) and cognitive social capital (i.e., trust, social harmony, and sense of belonging) in the past 12 months. Infant's dietary diversity score (DDS, range: 0-7), minimum dietary diversity (MDD), and minimum meal frequency (MMF) were assessed using a 24-hr dietary recall. Multivariable ordinal/binary logistic regression analyses were conducted. Having support from two or more individuals was associated with higher DDS (OR = 1.84) and meeting a minimum level of dietary diversity (MDD: OR = 5.20) but not with MMF, compared to those having no support. Having two or more group memberships was associated with higher DDS (OR = 2.2) but not with MDD or MMF, compared to those without group membership. Citizenship activities showed mixed associations with MMF and no association with DDS or MDD. Cognitive social capital showed no association with DDS or MDD and lower odds of meeting MMF (OR = 0.56). These mixed results call for further studies to examine other potential pathways (e.g., hygiene and caring behaviours) in which social capital could improve child nutritional status. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cognitive Social Capital and Formal Volunteering Among Older Adults in Urban China: Does Gender Matter?

PubMed

Lu, Nan; Peng, Changmin; Jiang, Nan; Lou, Vivian W Q

2018-03-01

This study examined the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between cognitive social capital and formal volunteering among older adults in urban China. Cognitive social capital refers to individuals' perceptions of their social relationships in local communities. We used quota sampling to recruit 456 older adults aged 60 years and older from 16 communities of Gusu district, Suzhou city, in late 2015. Multiple group analysis was used to examine the proposed model. Gender had a moderating effect on the relationship between cognitive social capital and volunteering. The associations between cognitive social capital and volunteering were higher among older men than older women. The findings highlight the important role of cognitive social capital in influencing formal volunteering among older adults in urban Chinese contexts. The findings are particularly important for enhancing volunteering among older adults across different social and economic backgrounds. Policy and intervention implications are discussed.

Effects of a Multi-Family Intervention on Social Capital and Child Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gamoran, Adam; Lopez Turley, Ruth N.; Turner, Alyn; Fish, Rachel

2011-01-01

Following the seminal writing of James Coleman (1988), a number of scholars have suggested that inequality in child and adolescent development reflects differences in social capital among families from different backgrounds (e.g., Sampson, Morenoff, & Earls, 1999; Crosnoe, 2004; Kao, 2004). By "social capital," Coleman referred to…

Social capital, health, health behavior, and utilization of healthcare services among older adults: A conceptual framework.

PubMed

Emmering, Sheryl A; Astroth, Kim Schafer; Woith, Wendy M; Dyck, Mary J; Kim, MyoungJin

2018-06-26

Meeting the health needs of Americans must change as the population continues to live longer. A strategy that considers social well-being is necessary. One way to improve social well-being is through increased social capital, which includes networks among individuals and norms of reciprocity and trust between them. Supporting attainment of bonding social capital from close-knit groups, such as family, and bridging or linking social capital from those who are dissimilar are vital. Research shows there is a relationship among social capital and self-reported mental and physical health, health behaviors, healthcare utilization, and mortality. Because older adults are often dependent on others for their healthcare needs, it is posited that social capital plays a key role. Nurses can be instrumental in investigating levels of social capital for individuals and determining what type of social support is needed and who in the individual's network will provide that support. When support is absent, the nurse serves as the link between patients and available resources. The purpose of this article is to introduce a conceptual framework that can assist nurses and other healthcare providers to consider social capital in older adults in the context of relationships and the social environments to which they belong. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

School Social Capital and Body Mass Index in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richmond, Tracy K.; Milliren, Carly; Walls, Courtney E.; Kawachi, Ichiro

2014-01-01

Background: Social capital in neighborhoods and workplaces positively affects health. Less is known about the influence of school social capital on student health outcomes, in particular weight status. We sought to examine the association between individual- and school-level social capital and student body mass index (BMI). Methods: Analyzing data…

Social capital and youth development: toward a typology of program practices.

PubMed

Emery, Mary

2013-06-01

As part of our inquiry into how youth development and 4-H programming can affect the development of social capital for youth and for the community, we engaged youth in ripple mapping. Based on this information, we provide a typology of participation structures in youth development activities and the expected bridging and bonding social capital outcomes for each type. This article outlines the key factors underlying the typology and discusses strategies for using the typology to expand the impact of youth development and 4-H programming on young people and communities. It also outlines potential implications for increasing opportunities for fostering social capital leading to a spiraling-up effect for youth, volunteers, and the community. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

A multiple indicator, multiple cause method for representing social capital with an application to psychological distress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Congdon, Peter

2010-03-01

This paper describes a structural equation methodology for obtaining social capital scores for survey subjects from multiple indicators of social support, neighbourhood and trust perceptions, and memberships of organizations. It adjusts for variation that is likely to occur in levels of social capital according to geographic context (e.g. level of area deprivation, geographic region, level of urbanity) and demographic group. Social capital is used as an explanatory factor for psychological distress using data from the 2006 Health Survey for England. A highly significant effect of social capital in reducing the chance of psychiatric caseness is obtained after controlling for other individual and geographic risk factors. Allowing for social capital has considerable effects on the impacts on psychiatric health of other risk factors. In particular, the impact of area deprivation category is much reduced. There is also evidence of significant differentiation in social capital between population categories and geographic contexts.

Understanding the effect of social capital on the depression of urban Chinese adolescents: an integrative framework.

PubMed

Wu, Qiaobing; Xie, Bin; Chou, Chih-Ping; Palmer, Paula H; Gallaher, Peggy E; Johnson, C Anderson

2010-03-01

Using data from an ongoing longitudinal study of 5,164 adolescents and their parents from seven cities in mainland China, this study investigated how social capital embedded in the family and the community, together with family human capital and financial capital, influenced the depressive symptoms of urban Chinese adolescents within an integrative framework. The structural equation modeling results suggested that higher community social capital was associated with lower level of adolescent depressive symptoms and was the strongest predictor among all these contextual factors. Family social capital played a significant role in mediating the effects of all other contextual factors on adolescent depressive symptoms. Unexpectedly, higher family financial capital predicted increased depressive symptoms both directly and indirectly through its negative effect on family social capital. As for gender, female adolescents reported more depressive symptoms as a result of less available family social capital. Implications of these findings for theory, practice, policy, and future research are discussed.

Does Workplace Social Capital Associate with Hazardous Drinking Among Chinese Rural-Urban Migrant Workers?

PubMed Central

Gao, Junling; Weaver, Scott R.; Fua, Hua; Pan, Zhigang

2014-01-01

Background The present study sought to investigate the associations between workplace social capital and hazardous drinking (HD) among Chinese rural-urban migrant workers (RUMW). Methods A cross sectional study with a multi-stage stratified sampling procedure was conducted in Shanghai during July 2012 to January 2013. In total, 5,318 RUMWs from 77 workplaces were involved. Work-place social capital was assessed using a validated and psychometrically tested eight-item measure. The Chinese version of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess hazardous drinking. Control variables included gender, age, marital status, education level, salary, and current smoking. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to test whether individual- and workplace-level social capital was associated with hazardous drinking. Results Overall, the prevalence of HD was 10.6%. After controlling for individual-level socio-demographic and lifestyle variables, compared to workers in the highest quartile of individual-level social capital, the odds of HD for workers in the three bottom quartiles were 1.13(95%CI: 1.04–1.23), 1.17(95%CI: 1.05–1.56) and 1.26(95%CI: 1.13–1.72), respectively. However, contrary to hypothesis, there was no relationship between workplace-level social capital and hazardous drinking. Conclusions Higher individual-level social capital may protect against HD among Chinese RUMWs. Interventions to build individual social capital among RUMWs in China may help reduce HD among this population. PMID:25502013

"El lado oscuro": "the dark side" of social capital in Mexican American heroin using men.

PubMed

Flores, David V; Torres, Luis R; Torres-Vigil, Isabel; Ren, Yi; Haider, Ali; Bordnick, Patrick S

2013-01-01

This article describes social capital in a cohort of 227 Mexican American men who are long-term injection heroin users. Social capital scores for current and former users were similar, suggesting equal absolute values of capital, but associated with illicit activities in current users and with cessation efforts in former users. Stable drug-using relationships provided high negative capital, whereas conventional relationships provided positive capital. Thus, social capital functions dichotomously in positive and negative contextualized roles. This study provides an alternative understanding of the dynamic interactions between individuals, environment, and drug abuse and can inform prevention and treatment interventions for an important demographic group.

Understanding the interactions between Social Capital, climate change, and community resilience in Gulf of Mexico coastal counties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, C.; Blomberg, B.; Kolker, A.; Nguyen, U.; Page, C. M.; Sherchan, S. P.; Tobias, V. D.; Wu, H.

2017-12-01

Coastal communities in the Gulf of Mexico are facing new and complex challenges as their physical environment is altered by climate warming and sea level rise. To effectively prepare for environmental changes, coastal communities must build resilience in both physical structures and social structures. One measure of social structure resilience is how much social capital a community possesses. Social capital is defined as the connections among individuals which result in networks with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate cooperation within or among groups. Social capital exists in three levels; bonding, bridging and linking. Bonding social capital is a measure of the strength of relationships amongst members of a network who are similar in some form. Bridging social capital is a measure of relationships amongst people who are dissimilar in some way, such as age, education, or race/ethnicity. Finally Linking social capital measures the extent to which individuals build relationships with institutions and individuals who have relative power over them (e.g local government, educational institutions). Using census and American Community Survey data, we calculated a Social Capital index value for bonding, bridging and linking for 60 Gulf of Mexico coastal counties for the years 2000, and 2010 to 2015. To investigate the impact of social capital on community resilience we coupled social capital index values with physical datasets of land-use/land cover, sea level change, climate, elevation and surface water quality for each coastal county in each year. Preliminary results indicate that in Gulf of Mexico coastal counties, increased bonding social capital results in decreased population change. In addition, we observed a multi-year time lag in the effect of increased bridging social capital on population stability, potentially suggesting key linkages between the physical and social environment in this complex coupled-natural human system. This