Publication type
Journal Article
Authors
Publication date
June 1, 2009
Abstract:
Social capital is often described as a collective benefit engendered by generalised trust, civic participation, and mutual reciprocity. This feature of communities has been shown to associate with an assortment of health outcomes at several levels of analysis. The current study assesses the evidence for an association between area-level social capital and individual-level subjective health. Respondents participating in waves 8 (1998) and 9 (1999) of the British Household Panel Survey were identified and followed-up 5 years later in wave 13 (2003). Area social capital was measured by two aggregated survey items: social trust and civic participation. Multilevel logistic regression models were fitted to examine the association between area social capital indicators and individual poor self-rated health. Evidence for a protective association with current self-rated health was found for area social trust after controlling for individual characteristics, baseline self-rated health and individual social trust. There was no evidence for an association between area civic participation and self-rated health after adjustment. The findings of this study expand the literature on social capital and health through the use of longitudinal data and multilevel modelling techniques.
Published in
Social Science and Medicine
Volume
Volume: 68 (11):1993-2001
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.03.011
Subjects
Notes
NCBI/PubMed alert
Previously 'In press, corrected proof' 3 Apr. 2009
Web of Knowledge alert
Albert Sloman Library Periodicals *restricted to Univ. Essex registered users*
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