title: Social capital and health status: assessing whether the relationship varies between blacks and whites.
abstract: The current study tests whether the relationship between social capital and health status varies between Blacks and Whites. It then considers whether such variance is a function of income level. OLS regression analysis is conducted on data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 2005, a national survey of 5586 adults conducted by the National Cancer Institute. Auxiliary friendship plays a more positive role in predicting health status than the other three social capital indicators: group membership, religious participation and discussion networks. There is one significant two-way interaction effect, with the association between auxiliary friendship and health status being more beneficial for Whites than Blacks. A significant three-way interaction effect signifies that the influence of ethnicity on the relationship between auxiliary friendship and health status is a function of income, with low-income Blacks benefiting much less from auxiliary friendship than high-income Blacks or, low- or high-income Whites. These findings are discussed in terms of health disparities in the United States, related practice and policy and the audience targeting of future health initiatives.
authors.affiliation: Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, USA. beaudoin@tulane.edu
authors.forename: Christopher E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Beaudoin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States; D044465:White People