title: How much does social capital add to individual health? A survey study of Russians.
abstract: Some Russians are healthier than others. To what extent does their health vary with involvement or exclusion from social capital networks? The first section reviews alternative theories: human capital as the primary determinant; social capital, whether generic, situation-specific or simply a new label for old measures of social integration; or a composite theory--both human and social capital are major determinants of health. The evidence to test hypotheses consists of individual-level data about self-assessed physical and emotional health from the special-purpose social capital questionnaire used in the 1998 New Russia Barometer survey, a nationwide representative sample of the adult Russian population. Multiple regression analysis shows that on their own human capital and social capital each account for a notable amount of variance in health. When both forms of capital are combined in a composite model, each retains major influence, demonstrating that social capital does make an independent contribution to health. Significant social capital influences include involvement or exclusion from formal and informal networks; friends to rely on when ill; control over one's own life; and trust. Significant human capital influences besides age include subjective social status, gender and income. Regression-based estimates of impact show that social capital increases physical and emotional health more than human capital; together they can easily raise an individual's self-reported health from just below average on a five-point scale to approaching good health.
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Study of Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rose
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019058:Community Networks; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012426:Russia; D012922:Social Change; D012923:Social Class; D012931:Social Environment; D012933:Social Identification; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014586:USSR