Social capital as a determinant of self-rated health and psychological well-being.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether specific dimensions of social capital are related to self-rated health and psychological well-being.


METHODS
Cross-sectional data from a health survey representing the adult Finnish population (N = 8,028) were used. Logistic regression analysis was used to reveal and quantify the possible associations between three dimensions of social capital (social support; social participation and networks; trust and reciprocity) and two general health indicators (self-rated health and psychological well-being). The roles of age, gender, education, living arrangements, income, type of region, functional capacity, and long-standing illness were also assessed.


RESULTS
Good self-rated health was associated with high levels of social participation and networks and trust and reciprocity, but social support did not remain statistically significant after adjustment for socio-demographic factors, long-standing illness, and functional capacity. The association between social support and psychological well-being was explained by the other two dimensions of social capital. The strong positive association between trust and psychological well-being persisted after controlling for all the other factors in our model.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that trust and reciprocity and social participation and networks contribute to good self-rated health and psychological well-being.
Nieminen
Tarja
T
Department of Health, Functional Capacity and Welfare, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), PL 30, 00271, Helsinki, Finland. tarja.nieminen@thl.fi
Martelin
Tuija
T
Koskinen
Seppo
S
Aro
Hillevi
H
Alanen
Erkki
E
Hyyppä
Markku T
MT
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012923:Social Class; D012944:Social Support