title: Social capital and health.
abstract: Social capital refers to bonds between individuals, both in intimate relationships (primary groups) and in voluntary associations (secondary groups) that make it possible for individuals and groups to achieve a variety of goals. Such bonds have also been claimed to have health promoting effects. In this chapter, I review a variety of empirical studies at both levels of analysis and suggest that the results are mixed, much depending upon the context in which such relationships occur.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA. Stephen_Kunitz@urmc.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kunitz
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers; D003468:Cultural Evolution; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D014507:Urbanization