Workplace social capital and smoking among Chinese male employees: a multi-level, cross-sectional study.
OBJECTIVE
The present study sought to investigate the associations between workplace social capital and smoking status among Chinese male employees.


METHODS
A cross sectional study with a two-stage stratified sampling procedure was conducted in Shanghai in 2012. In total, 1603 male workers from 35 workplaces were involved. Workplace social capital was assessed using a validated and psychometrically tested eight-item measure. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore whether individual-level social capital and aggregated workplace-level social capital were associated with smoking.


RESULTS
Overall, 54.2% of the subjects smoked currently. After controlling for individual covariates (age, education level, marital status, occupational status and job stress), compared to workers in the highest quartile of individual-level social capital, the prevalence ratios of smoking for workers in the third quartile, second quartile and lowest quartile were 1.26 (95% CI: 1.11-1.38), 1.35 (95% CI: 1.19-1.50) and 1.39 (95% CI: 1.24-1.51) respectively. However, there was no relationship between workplace-level social capital and smoking status.


CONCLUSIONS
Higher individual-level social capital was associated with a lower likelihood of smoking among Chinese male employees. By contrast, no clear association was found between workplace-level social capital and smoking. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to examine the possible link between workplace social capital and smoking cessation in Chinese workplaces.
School of Public Health, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China.
Junling
J
Gao
Eric J
EJ
Nehl
Hua
H
Fu
Yingnan
Y
Jia
Xingdi
X
Liu
Pinpin
P
Zheng
D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
China; Smoking; Social capital; Workplace