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

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.     

Activism as a feature of mental health and wellbeing for racialized immigrant women in a Canadian context

Although immigrant women bear a disproportionate burden of chronic disease and mental health issues, limited research addresses how to promote their mental wellbeing. The authors first describe grounded theory findings from community-based focus group research with 57 racialized immigrant women in Toronto, Canada that used a critical gender and intersectional lens to explore the links among settlement, wellbeing, and activism. Secondly, a community mobilization strategy is described whereby racialized immigrant women discuss activism as a feature of wellbeing in various language communities while creating meaningful health promotion resources. Implications for creating activism-based initiatives to promote women's wellbeing are discussed.     

Neighbourhood life and social capital: the implications for health

Social capital has been linked to health outcomes, though there are some inconsistencies in the research and the link is dependent on the measures of social capital and health used. In this paper, we argue that social capital is multifaceted and its relationship with health is complex. We explore the relationship between a number of elements of neighbourhood life and neighbourhood-based social capital, and health, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The paper reports on a study of the Western suburbs of Adelaide and the analysis of 2400 questionnaires and 40 in-depth interviews. A partial least-square path analysis was undertaken with the questionnaire data. It considered the impact of perceptions of the physical environment, neighbourhood connections, neighbourhood trust, reciprocity, perceived safety and local civic action, and a number of demographic variables, on physical and mental health as measured by the SF-12. Of the neighbourhood-related variables, only perceived neighbourhood safety was related to physical health, with neighbourhood safety and neighbourhood connections related to mental health. Of the demographic variables, higher-income level and educational achievement were related to better physical and mental health. In addition, physical health was lower and mental health higher within older age groups. The inter-relationships between the neighbourhood variables and demographic differences in experience of neighbourhood were also examined. The thematic analysis of the interviews linked a number of social aspects of neighbourhood, the physical neighbourhood environment, perceptions of safety, civic activities and availability of local services, to health outcomes. The paper concludes that there is a need for more complex measures of social capital and that socio-economic factors are of relatively greater importance in determining health.     

Social capital in its place: using social theory to understand social capital and inequalities in health

Social capital has been controversially linked to public health benefits, particularly as an explanation for the relationship between economic inequalities and health. This paper focuses on social capital in this context, particularly a recent emphasis on social capital in neighbourhoods and growing use of Bourdieu's social theory in empirical investigations. A review of some of this work is used to suggest the need for a more coherent theoretical approach to using Bourdieu and to introduce an ethnographic study of social connections in New Zealand. Forty-six residents of, a rural town, a deprived city suburb, or an affluent suburb, volunteered to be interviewed about their social connections. Their talk was transcribed and analysed in terms of everyday practice. The results of this study suggest that social connections are not necessarily located in neighbourhoods, and that social capital will be better understood in a broader social context which includes competition for resources between deprived and non-deprived groups, and the practices of all citizens across neighbourhoods. When considering social capital, an exclusive focus on deprived neighbourhoods as sites for research and intervention is not helpful.     

Drug courts and mental health courts: implications for social work

In recent years communities across the United States have instituted specialized criminal courts for defendants with substance abuse disorders and mental illness. These specialized courts seek to prevent incarceration and facilitate community-based treatment for offenders, while at the same time protecting public safety. The authors describe two types of specialized courts: drug courts and mental health courts. They critically examine the strengths and weaknesses of these courts and conclude with implications for social work education, practice, research, and advocacy.     

Cultural and social context of dysentery: implications for the introduction of a new vaccine

Dysentery, a severe form of diarrhoeal disease, is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Paradoxically, virtually no studies have been conducted to examine beliefs and behaviours associated with dysentery. The explanatory model of dysentery was explored in a community in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to understand the acceptability of a vaccine against dysentery. A local term for bloody dysentery is widely known, and residents describe a progression of symptoms, which closely mirrors the biomedical model of the disease. Due to the symbolic significance of blood loss and the fact that there is much uncertainty regarding treatment, bloody dysentery is perceived to be extremely serious. Causal interpretations most commonly relate to humoral theories, and remedies involve the consumption of 'cooling' foods that will reduce the heat associated with dysentery. Despite many misconceptions about vaccines and the fact that this approach contradicts aetiological explanations, the perceived severity of the illness makes vaccines attractive compared to other preventative measures. The results illuminate relevant information for the implementation of a new vaccine.     

How place matters: unpacking technology and power in health and social care

The devolution of care into nontraditional community-based settings has led to a proliferation of sites for health and social care. Despite recent (re)formulations of 'evidence-based' approaches that stress the importance of optimizing interventions to best practice by taking into account the uniqueness of place, there is relatively little guidance in the literature and few attempts to systematically 'unpack' key dimensions of settings most relevant to policy, practice and research. In this paper, we explore how place matters for health and social care. In effect, we propose making place the lens through which to view practice, and not simply an interesting sideline focus. We focus specifically on (a) the emplacement of power relations in health and social care in and across settings; and (b) the pervasive (and often unrecognised) influence of technology on and in place (both 'mundane' and more visible 'high' technologies) as arguably among the most significant and pervasive (and often overlooked) dimensions of place pertinent to health and social care in both traditional (institutional) and nontraditional (community) settings. Drawing on diverse disciplinary literatures, we seek to make visible certain issues and bodies of work that health professionals may not be aware of, and which often remain inaccessible to practitioners and applied researchers on account of their density, complexity, and specialised terminology. In particular, drawing on the rich tradition of cultural studies, we advance the culture of place as a rubric for understanding the complex interrelationship between power, technology, culture, and place. Several fruitful avenues for place-sensitive research of health and social care practice (and its effects) are suggested.     

社区高血压患者社会资本与心理健康的关系

目的评价社会资本量表的信度和效度,分析社区高血压患者社会资本与心理健康的关系。方法采用多阶段整群随机抽样的方法,对上海市某区高血压患者经知情同意进行问卷调查。其中社会资本量表是在相关理论和研究基础上,通过多次专家咨询,对量表的条目进行设计和修改而成,应用Cronbach’s α系数、评分者信度及探索性因子分析对其信度和效度进行评价;世界卫生组织5项心理健康量表用于测评患者心理健康状况。采用多因素非条件logistic回归分析高血压患者社会资本与心理健康状况的关系。结果社会资本量表的Cronbach’s α系数为0．628,量表各维度Cronbach’s α系数为0．507～0．793。评分者信度P值为0．001-0．715。各维度得分与量表总得分相关系数为0．500～0．928。因子分析的KMO值为0．706,提取了3个公因子,共解释了60．99％的方差变异。在控制其他可能的影响因素后,社区高血压患者信任参与程度和心理健康状况呈正相关（OR=1．740,P〈O．01）。结论社会资本量表有较好的信度、效度,社会资本是社区高血压患者心理健康的重要影响因素,尤其是提高患者社区活动参与意识和社区信任感对改善高血压患者心理健康有着积极的促进作用。     

Neighbourhood social capital and common mental disorder: testing the link in a general population sample

General population multilevel studies of social capital and mental health are few in number. This multilevel study examined external measures of neighbourhood social capital and common mental disorders (CMD). Main effects and stress buffering models were tested. Based on data from over 9000 residents in 239 neighbourhoods in England and Scotland, there was no evidence of a main effect of social capital. For people living in deprived circumstances only, associations between neighbourhood social capital and CMD were seen. Elements of bridging social capital (contact amongst local friends) were associated with lower reporting of CMD. Elements of bonding social capital (attachment to neighbourhood) were associated with higher reporting of CMD. Findings provide some support for the hypothesis that social capital may protect against CMD, but indicate that initiatives should be targeted to deprived groups, focus on specific elements of social capital and not neglect the important relationship between personal socioeconomic disadvantage and CMD.     

社会资本测量及其在健康领域应用

目的 社会资本是一个多维度多层面的概念,对其进行定量测量是一个非常复杂的程序。本文介绍了社会资本的相关概念及常用测量工具,并讨论了社会资本测量在健康领域的相关实证应用。建议在进行社会资本测量时,应根据调查所在地区的社会人口学特征、经济文化水平等因素,并结合研究目的选择需要测量的社会资本的维度,选用信度和效度量好的测量工具,或采用定性分析和定量测量结合的方法研究社会资本与健康的关联。     

The mental health care context and patient characteristics: implications for provider job satisfaction

This research examines job satisfaction among 282 staff providing mental health care to 574 patients with serious mental illness. The mental health staff worked in 18 Department of Veterans Affairs inpatient and outpatient mental health care units at 12 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers located across the contiguous 48 states. The purpose was to identify (1) aspects of the health care context that were associated with provider job satisfaction and (2) administrative and organizational procedures/interventions that might sustain or improve provider job satisfaction. The association of provider job satisfaction with patients' functional status and symptom severity was tested in multilevel statistical models that accounted for provider and unit characteristics. Provider job satisfaction was found to be greater on smaller units and units with higher patient functioning and lower illness severity. Implications of these results are discussed.     

Measuring access to social capital: the validity and reliability of the Resource Generator-UK and its association with common mental disorder

Resource generators measure an individual's access to social resources within their social network. They can facilitate the analysis of how access to these resources may assist recovery from illness. As these instruments are culture and context dependent different versions need to be validated for different populations. Further, they are yet to be subjected to a thorough content validation and their reliability and validity have not been established beyond an examination of their internal scales. This paper reports the validity and reliability of a version suitable for general population use in the UK. Firstly, a qualitative process of item selection and review through focus groups and an expert panel ensured that the resource items were relevant. Also, cognitive interviews identified any significant problems prior to extensive piloting. Then we examined its internal domains using Mokken scaling in a small general population survey (n=295). Its concurrent validity with a similar instrument was tested in a further pilot (n=335) and these findings were supported by a known-group validity study (n=65). Its reliability was established in a test-retest study (n=47) in addition to an examination of the reliability coefficients of the internal scales. We found that the Resource Generator-UK has good psychometric properties, though there is some variation in performance between items and scales. Further, we found an inverse relationship with common mental disorder in the second pilot we undertook.     

‘Faking til you make it’: Social capital accumulation of individuals on low incomes living in contrasting socio-economic neighbourhoods and its implications for health and wellbeing

People on low-income living in low socio-economic neighbourhoods have poorer health in comparison with those living in advantaged neighbourhoods. To explore neighbourhood effects on health and social capital creation, the experiences of low-income people living in contrasting socio-economic neighbourhoods were compared, in order to examine how low-income status and differing levels of neighbourhood resources contributed to perceived health and wellbeing. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed: survey data from 601 individuals living in contrasting socio-economic areas and in-depth interviews with a new sample of 24 individuals on low-incomes. The study was guided by Bourdieu's theory of practice, which examines how social inequalities are created and reproduced through the relationship between individuals' varying resources of economic, social and cultural capital. This included an examination of individual life histories, cultural distinction and how social positions are reproduced. Participants' accounts of their early life experience showed how parental socio-economic position and socially patterned events taking place across the life course, created different opportunities for social network creation, choice of neighbourhood and levels of resources available throughout life, all of which can influence health and wellbeing. A definition of poverty by whether an individual or household has sufficient income at a particular point in time was an inadequate measure of disadvantage. This static measure of ‘low income’ as a category disguised a number of different ways in which disadvantage was experienced or, conversely, how life course events could mitigate the impact of low-income. This study found that the resources necessary to create social capital such as cultural capital and the ability to socially network, differed according to the socio-economic status of the neighbourhood, and that living in an advantaged area does not automatically guarantee access to potentially beneficial social networks.     

Music‐making for health and wellbeing in youth justice settings: mediated affordances and the impact of context and social relations

Young people in the criminal justice system experience significant health and wellbeing issues that often stem from poverty and disadvantage and, in turn, are linked with offending and reoffending behaviour. There is ongoing interest in interventions such as participatory music programmes that seek to foster social reintegration, support mental wellbeing and equip young offenders with life skills, competencies and emotional resilience. However, there is a need for a situated understanding of both positive and negative experiences that shape potential outcomes of music projects. This article reports on a research study undertaken between 2010 and 2013 with 118 young people aged 13–21 years across eight youth justice settings in England and Wales. Using mixed methods we explored the experiences of young people and their responses to a participatory music programme led by a national UK arts charity. Here, we explore the impact of young people's encounters with music and musicians with reference to the notion of ‘musical affordances’ (DeNora 2000 , 2003 ). We examine the ways that such affordances, including unintended outcomes, are mediated by features of the youth justice environment, including its rules and regulations, as well as issues of power, identity and social relations.     

Place,social capital,and mental health: A mixed-methods case study of a community-based intervention

This study collaborated with the “Neighbourhoods in Solidarity” (NS) action research intervention to understand place, social capital, and mental health for older adults in one Swiss town. It used a longitudinal mixed-methods design, combing a pre/post survey with ethnographic observations. It found that place was a recurring theme throughout the NS intervention and how the NS were able to build social capital. Older adults who participated in the NS experienced an increase in structural social capital, but many participants already had high levels of structural social capital before the intervention. Participants did not experience a significant change in cognitive social capital, but this may have been due to a general decline in cognitive social capital in the area. Neither changes in cognitive nor structural social capital predicted depressive symptoms after one year.