Capital relations and health: mediating and moderating effects of cultural, economic, and social capitals on mortality in Alameda County, California

Inspired by Bourdieu's theories on various forms of capital, conversions among them, and the fields (social spaces) delineated by possession of them, the authors investigate distinct and interconnected effects of cultural, economic, and social capitals on risk of mortality. Using 35 years of longitudinal data from the Alameda County Study (n = 6,157), they created discrete-time hazard models to predict all-cause mortality from educational attainment (institutionalized cultural capital), household income (economic capital), and different forms of personal ties (social capital). The results show that education, income, having three or more close friends, regularity of church attendance, and participation in social/recreational groups were all negatively and significantly associated with risk of mortality. Income mediated a significant portion of the education effect. None of the personal ties variables mediated the effects of education or income. Relative composition of the sum total of education and income did not have an effect. Lastly, examination of statistical interactions between capitals determined that protective effects of church attendance and participation in community betterment groups applied only to non-wealthy people. These findings speak to the structure of the U.S. social space within which health-delimiting relationally defined social classes may be made manifest.     

Demographic, social and stress correlates of hypertension among the urban poor

The relationship of demographic, social, and psychological variables to the diagnosis of hypertension in a population of urban, poor, predominantly black out-patients is reported. Subjects were 182 patients presenting for health care at Wayne State University Family Practice Clinic. Age, race, marital status, attendance at religious services, education, employment status, income, source of income and interpersonal stress were significantly related to a diagnosis of hypertension in this sample. Of those characteristics found to be significantly related to hypertension, discriminative analysis showed that age, race, education and frequency of church attendance were most important in predicting a diagnosis of hypertension among this out-patient sample of the urban poor. Implications for clinical care and for future research needs are considered.     

Religious involvement and health outcomes among older persons in Taiwan

We use data from a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of older Taiwanese to examine the relationship between religious involvement-including religious affiliation, religious attendance, beliefs, and religious practices-and self-reported measures of overall health status, mobility limitations, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function; clinical measures of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, serum interleukin-6, and 12-h urinary cortisol; and 4-year mortality. Frequency of religious attendance shows the strongest, most consistent association with health outcomes. But, with only one exception, this relationship disappears in the presence of controls for health behaviors, social networks, and prior health status. Religious attendance remains significantly associated with lower mortality even after controlling for prior self-assessed health status, but the coefficient is substantially reduced. Other aspects of religiosity are only sporadically associated with health and, in all cases, private religious practices and stronger beliefs are associated with worse health; again, this relationship disappears after controlling for prior health status. These results suggest that reverse causality may partly account for both the positive and negative correlations between religiosity and health. We find no significant associations between religious involvement and biological markers. Notably, even after controlling for prior health, participation in social activities has a more robust effect on health than religious attendance. Consequently, we question whether the purported health benefits are attributable to religion or to social activity in general.     

社会资本对农村户籍老年人健康的影响与性别差异研究

[目的]了解不同类别社会资本(人际信任、社会支持、社会参与)对我国农村户籍老年人健康的影响及性别差异.[方法]基于2017-2018年中国老年健康影响因素跟踪调查(CLHLS)数据对9068名60岁以上农村户籍老年人进行分析.[结果]社会参与(正式和非正式)和人际信任对农村户籍老年人健康状况的积极影响显著,有社会参与的...     

A four year (1996–2000) analysis of social capital and health status of Canadians: The difference that love makes

Despite extensive research on the relationship between social capital and health, the specific pathways through which social capital is related to health have not been fully elucidated. Moreover, research has generally been cross-sectional, particularly in Canada, and hence not clearly attentive to the causal relationship between social capital and health. In this study we have examined the importance of multiple forms of individual social capital for the functional health status of adult Canadians, employing the Canadian National Population Health Survey (NPHS). We examine changes in health between 1996 and 2000, using individual level variables from 1996 as predictors. In our final model, the key aspect of social capital affecting changes in health status is being loved by someone. This is predicted by being married, frequency of family contacts, religious service attendance and being born in Canada. Insecurity about food also has a direct effect on changes in health status. The latter is affected by income, daily smoking and age. The results suggest that policies to support family stability and family unification, for example through immigration, and efforts to minimize the disruptions of divorce could contribute to the health of Canadians.     

Religious Involvement,Social Engagement,and Subjective Health Status of Older Residents of Informal Neighborhoods of Nairobi

Although past research has extensively documented the effects of religious involvement and social integration on the health outcomes of older people, relatively little research has examined the relationship among older Africans. In this article, we examined the effects of religious affiliation and participation as well as forms of social engagement, including social support, sociability, and community participation on self-reported health. The study used data from a sample of older men and women (50 years and above) from two informal settlements in Nairobi Kenya. Differences in religious groups were statistically significant. Frequency of religious attendance was negatively associated with health, while the number of close friends, social support, and frequency of community participation were positively and independently related to self-reported health.     

健康相关社会资本对中老年社区居民抑郁症状的影响

目的 研究中老年社区居民群体健康相关社会资本对抑郁症状的影响,为提升其心理健康水平提供依据。方法 采用多阶段分层整群抽样的方法,抽取成都市中老年居民1432人进行问卷调查。抑郁症状采用流调中心抑郁水平评定量表（CES-D）,健康相关社会资本由自编社会资本量表测量。应用多因素logistic回归分析中老年居民社会资本对其抑郁症状的影响。结果 中老年社区居民抑郁症状发生率为25.4%。不同性别、婚姻状况、文化程度、工作状况、健康状况的中老年人社会资本不同（P<0.05）;在控制人口学特征、健康危险因素等变量的情况下,家庭关系较好的中老年人产生抑郁症状的可能性较低（OR=0.555, 95%CI: 0.429~0.720）、社区信任与归属感得分较高的老年人产生抑郁症状的可能性较低（OR=0.726, 95%CI: 0.553~0.952）。结论 家庭关系、社会归属与信任感是影响社区中老年居民心理健康的主要社会资本因素,应对影响居民抑郁症状的因素采取有针对性的措施进行干预。     

Effects of child health on parents' social capital

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.     

Individual-level relationships between social capital and self-rated health in a bilingual community

BACKGROUND. Previous register studies have shown that mortality rates and disability pension statistics favor Swedish-speakers when compared to their Finnish-speaking neighbors in the same bilingual region in Finland. The purpose of the present questionnaire survey was to determine whether the Swedish-speaking community has more social capital and if the social capital is associated with health at the individual level. METHODS. The study population consisted of randomly selected samples of Finnish-speakers (N 1,000, response rate 66%) and Swedish-speakers (N 1,000, response rate 63%) representing all adults living in bilingual Ostrobothnian municipalities (75,000 Finnish-speakers and 78,000 Swedish-speakers). To inquire into social capital and health indicators, a bilingual questionnaire was composed to cover variables and indicators of sociodemography, health status, health behavior, and social capital (interpersonal trust and civic engagement). Data were analyzed with multiple logistic regression for two binary outcome variables: language group (Finnish vs Swedish) and self-rated health (good vs almost good/fair/poor/bad). RESULTS. When health-related variables (urban residence, migration, age, BMI, household income, smoking, singing in a choir, membership in any voluntary association, participation in community events, and long-term diseases) were controlled for, the Finnish-speakers were more often migrated (P = 0.0001) and mistrusting (P = 0.0001) and less active in community events (P = 0.0016) and in singing in a choir (P = 0.02) than the Swedish-speakers. After controlling for language and the above-mentioned health-related variables, the number of auxiliary (willing to help) friends (P = 0.001), mistrust (P = 0.037), and membership in any religious association (P = 0.0096) were significantly and independently associated with good self-rated health in the whole sample. CONCLUSIONS. The Swedish-speaking community seems to hold a fair quantity of social capital, which is associated with good health. Since the ecological and socioeconomic circumstances are equal for both language communities, a great deal of health inequality can be explained by differences in social capital.     

Life satisfaction in a sample of empty-nest elderly: a survey in the rural area of a mountainous county in China

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the life satisfaction and its predictors between the empty-nest and not-empty-nest elderly. METHODS: A semi-structured questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics, physical health, and the Life Satisfaction Index (LSI), UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was administered to 275 empty-nest and 315 not-empty-nest rural elderly in a Chinese county. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the predictors of LSI score. RESULTS: The empty-nest elderly had lower life satisfaction, lower income, poorer relationships with children, less social support, higher prevalence of chronic diseases, and more feelings of depression and loneliness compared to the not-empty-nest elderly. "Empty-nest status" was negatively related with life satisfaction. Depression was the strongest predictor of life satisfaction in both groups. The second strongest predictor was loneliness among the empty-nest group, while it was chronic diseases among the not-empty-nest group. Marital status and income were correlated with life satisfaction only among the empty-nest elderly. CONCLUSIONS: The empty-nest elderly were likely to have mental health problems and to feel unsatisfied with their life. These findings also emphasize the importance of mental health as the determinant of life satisfaction among the empty-nest elderly.     

Social capital and collective efficacy in Hungary: cross sectional associations with middle aged female and male mortality rates

OBJECTIVES: Social capital, collective efficacy, and religious involvement have each been linked to population health. This study examined the relations between these measures and male/female mortality rates in Hungary. DESIGN: Cross sectional, ecological study. SETTING: 150 sub-regions of Hungary. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: 12643 people were interviewed in 2002 (the "Hungarostudy 2002" survey). Social capital was measured by lack of social trust, reciprocity between citizens, and membership in civil organisations. Collective efficacy was measured by survey items from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Religious involvement was measured by church attendance. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Gender specific all cause mortality rates for the middle aged population (45-64 years) in the 150 sub-regions of Hungary, provided by the Central Statistical Office (CSO). RESULTS: Social capital, collective efficacy, as well as religious involvement were each significantly associated with middle age mortality. After education, collective efficacy showed the strongest association with mortality in both men and women. Among men, socioeconomic status, collective efficacy, social distrust, competitive attitude, reciprocity, and membership of civic organisations explained 68.0% of the sub-regional variations in mortality rates. Among women the same variables explained only 29.3% of the variance in mortality rates. Religious involvement was protective among women. CONCLUSION: Collective efficacy and social capital are significant predictors of mortality rates in both men and women across sub-regions of Hungary. Gender differences in the relative importance of social factors may help to explain the differential impact of economic transformation on mortality rates for men and women in Central-Eastern European countries.     

The empirical relationship between community social capital and the demand for cigarettes

We show that the proportion of community social capital attributable to religious groups is inversely and strongly related to the number of cigarettes that smokers consume. We do not find overall community social capital or the proportion of community social capital attributable to religious groups to be related to the overall prevalence of smoking. Using a new validated measure of community social capital, the Petris Social Capital Index and three years (1998-2000) of US data on 39 369 adults, we estimate a two-part demand model incorporating the following controls: community-level fixed effects, price (including excise taxes), family income, a smuggling indicator, nonsmoking regulations, education, marital status, sex, age, and race/ethnicity.     

Household food insecurity is inversely associated with social capital and health in females from special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children households in Appalachian Ohio

Food insecurity has been negatively associated with social capital (a measure of perceived social trust and community reciprocity) and health status. Yet, these factors have not been studied extensively among women from households participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) or the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. A cross-sectional, self-administered, mailed survey was conducted in Athens County, Ohio, to examine the household food security status, social capital, and self-rated health status of women from households receiving WIC benefits alone (n=170) and those from households receiving both WIC and Farmers' Market Nutrition Program benefits (n=65), as well as the relationship of food security, social capital, and self-rated health status. Household food security and perceived health status were not significantly different between groups; however, high social capital was greater (chi(2)=8.156, P=0.004) among WIC, compared to WIC/Farmers' Market Nutrition Program group respondents. Overall, household food insecurity was inversely associated with perceived health status (r=-0.229, P=0.001) and social capital (r=0.337, P<0.001). Enabling networking among clients, leading to client-facilitated programs and projects, and developing programs that strengthen social capital, including community-based mentoring programs and nutrition education programs that are linked to community-based activities, are needed, as is additional research to verify these findings.     

基于结构方程模型的空巢老人抑郁现状及影响因素

  目的  了解山西省空巢老人抑郁现状,通过结构方程模型探讨其相关影响因素,为预防和干预空巢老人抑郁提供科学依据。  方法  运用抑郁自评量表和一般情况调查表对山西省4 901名空巢老人进行问卷调查,并拟合结构方程模型。  结果  山西省空巢老人抑郁症状检出率为64.21%。结构方程模型分析结果发现,健康状况对抑郁症状有直接影响（P=0.028）,总效应为-0.978;经济状况对抑郁症状的作用大小为0.086（P=0.030）,社会功能对抑郁症状的直接影响无统计学意义（P=0.173）,其可通过与健康状况、经济状况的相关来作用于抑郁症状。三个潜变量之间相关（均有P < 0.05）,健康状况与社会功能相关性最强（r=0.942）,其次是与经济状况（r=0.718）,社会功能与经济状况相关性为0.683。  结论  本次调查的空巢老人大部分存在抑郁症状。健康状况是空巢老人抑郁症状最直接、最重要的影响因素,社会功能通过影响健康状况、经济状况进而作用于抑郁症状。     

Does gender modify associations between self rated health and the social and economic characteristics of local environments?

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether area level socioeconomic disadvantage and social capital have different relations with women's and men's self rated health. METHODS: The study used data from 15 112 respondents to the 1998 Tasmanian (Australia) healthy communities study (60% response rate) nested within 41 statistical local areas. Gender stratified analyses were conducted of the associations between the index of relative socioeconomic disadvantage (IRSD) and social capital (neighbourhood integration, neighbourhood alienation, neighbourhood safety, political participation, social trust, trust in institutions) and individual level self rated health using multilevel logistic regression analysis before (age only) and after adjustment for individual level confounders (marital status, indigenous status, income, education, occupation, smoking). The study also tested for interactions between gender and area level variables. RESULTS: IRSD was associated with poor self rated health for women (age adjusted p<0.001) and men (age adjusted p<0.001), however, the estimates attenuated when adjusted for individual level variables. Political participation and neighbourhood safety were protective for women's self rated health but not for men's. Interactions between gender and political participation (p = 0.010) and neighbourhood safety (p = 0.023) were significant. CONCLUSIONS: These finding suggest that women may benefit more than men from higher levels of area social capital.     

Functional limitations and religious service attendance among African American and white older adults

Church attendance is associated with improved health and well-being among older adults, but older adults with functional limitations may have difficulty attending church services. This article examines differences in the association between functional limitations and church attendance in a sample of 987 elderly African American and white individuals. African American and white elderly people without limitations attended church at virtually the same rate (69 percent). Despite their higher scores on religiousness measures, elderly African Americans with one or more limitations were significantly less likely to attend church regularly than were white counterparts. Health status measures did not help explain older African Americans' lower attendance rates. Differences in attendance were associated primarily with educational attainment and cognitive functioning. The article recommends social work intervention to reduce barriers to church attendance for older adults who want to attend services.     

Social participation and health in a community rich in stock of social capital

In Finland, members of the Swedish-speaking minority, many of whom live in the province of Ostrobothnia, intermingle with the Finnish-speaking majority. Although the two language communities are quite similar to each other in most societal respects, including socioeconomic status, education and use of health services, significant disparities have been reported in the morbidity, disability and mortality between the Swedish-speaking minority and the Finnish-speaking majority. Since the population genetic, ecological and socioeconomic circumstances are equal, Swedish speakers' longer active life is difficult to explain by conventional health-related risk factors. A great deal of health inequality (between the language groups) seems to derive from uneven distribution of social capital, i.e. the Swedish-speaking community holds a higher amount of social capital that is associated with their well-being and health. Factor analysis revealed four patterns of social capital measures, i.e. voluntary associational activity, friendship network, religious involvement and hobby club activity, of which associational activity, friendship network and religious involvement were significantly associated with good self-rated health. Also, trustful friendship network, hobby club activity and religious involvement as well as avoidance of intoxication-prone drinking behavior were significantly more frequent among the individuals of the Swedish-speaking community. We suggest that health promotion should seek ways of working which would encourage social participation.     

Religious participation and risky health behaviors among adolescents

Previous studies have shown that adolescent religious participation is negatively associated with risky health behaviors such as cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and illicit drug use. One explanation for these findings is that religion directly reduces risky behaviors because churches provide youths with moral guidance or with strong social networks that reinforce social norms. An alternative explanation is that both religious participation and risky health behaviors are driven by some common unobserved individual trait. We use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and implement an instrumental variables approach to identify the effect of religious participation on smoking, binge drinking, and marijuana use. Following Gruber (2005), we use a county-level measure of religious market density as an instrument. We find that religious market density has a strong positive association with adolescent religious participation, but not with secular measures of social capital. Upon accounting for unobserved heterogeneity, we find that religious participation continues to have a significant negative effect on illicit drug use. On the contrary, the estimated effects of attendance in instrumental variables models of binge drinking and smoking are statistically imprecise.     

The impact of changes in different aspects of social capital and material conditions on self-rated health over time: A longitudinal cohort study

Individual aspects of social capital have been shown to have significant associations with health outcomes. However, research has seldom tested different elements of social capital simultaneously, whilst also adjusting for other well-known health determinants over time. This longitudinal individual-level study investigates how temporal changes in social capital, together with changes in material conditions and other health determinants affect associations with self-rated health over a six year period. We use data from the British Household Panel Survey, a randomly selected cohort which is considered representative of the United Kingdom's population, with the same individuals (N = 9303) providing responses to identical questions in 1999 and 2005. Four measures of social capital were used: interpersonal trust, social participation, civic participation and informal social networks. Material conditions were measured by total income (both individual and weighted household income), net of taxation. Other health determinants included age, gender, smoking, marital status and social class. After the baseline sample was stratified by health status, associations were examined between changes in health status and changes in all other considered variables. Simultaneous adjustment revealed that inability to trust demonstrated a significant association with deteriorating self-rated health, whereas increased levels of social participation were significantly associated with improved health status over time. Low levels of household and individual income also demonstrated significant associations with deteriorating self-rated health. In conclusion, it seems that interpersonal trust and social participation, considered valid indicators of social capital, appear to be independent predictors of self-rated health, even after adjusting for other well-known health determinants. Understandably, how trust and social participation influence health outcomes may help resolve the debate surrounding the role of social capital within the field of public health.     

空巢老年人健康相关生存质量及空巢社会因素研究

目的 分析≥60岁空巢老年人健康相关生存质量现状及空巢相关社会因素,为制定健康老龄化相关策略和措施提供依据.方法 采用整群抽样方法 选取浙江省部分地区城乡≥60岁老年人4995名.采用逐步logistic回归进行空巢社会因素的多因素分析.用多元线性回归模型在校正混杂因素后,比较空巢和非空巢老年人的健康相关生存质量.结果 逐步logistic回归分析显示,与非空巢老年人相比较,空巢老年人年龄多集中在70～79岁(P=0.0417),文化程度高(P＜0.0001),以及居住于农村(P＜0.0001)和低收入者(P=0.0178,P=0.0049)趋向于空巢的概率较大.空巢老年人较非空巢者对生活的满意度较高(P=0.0070,P=0.0035),情绪状态较好(P=0.0371).多元线性回归在校正了年龄、性别、婚姻状况、文化程度、居住地、个人年收入以及生活满意度评分和情绪评分等因素后,结果 显示空巢老年人在生理领域中的躯体疼痛(P=0.0032)维度,心理领域的情感所致功能限制(P=0.0033)维度以及心理领域(P=0.0342)的得分较非空巢老年人低.结论 空巢老年人的健康相关生存质量低于非空巢者,尤其体现在心理功能方面.空巢老年人具有高文化程度、低收入以及居住于农村等特征,是实施健康老龄化需要重点关注的对象.