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A four year (1996-2000) analysis of social capital and health status of Canadians: The difference that love makes

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  • Nakhaie, Reza
  • Arnold, Robert

Abstract

Despite extensive research on the relationship between social capital and health, the specific pathways through which social capital is related to health have not been fully elucidated. Moreover, research has generally been cross-sectional, particularly in Canada, and hence not clearly attentive to the causal relationship between social capital and health. In this study we have examined the importance of multiple forms of individual social capital for the functional health status of adult Canadians, employing the Canadian National Population Health Survey (NPHS). We examine changes in health between 1996 and 2000, using individual level variables from 1996 as predictors. In our final model, the key aspect of social capital affecting changes in health status is being loved by someone. This is predicted by being married, frequency of family contacts, religious service attendance and being born in Canada. Insecurity about food also has a direct effect on changes in health status. The latter is affected by income, daily smoking and age. The results suggest that policies to support family stability and family unification, for example through immigration, and efforts to minimize the disruptions of divorce could contribute to the health of Canadians.

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  • Nakhaie, Reza & Arnold, Robert, 2010. "A four year (1996-2000) analysis of social capital and health status of Canadians: The difference that love makes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(5), pages 1037-1044, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:5:p:1037-1044
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    2. Liu, Gordon G. & Xue, Xindong & Yu, Chenxi & Wang, Yafeng, 2016. "How does social capital matter to the health status of older adults? Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 177-189.
    3. Verduin, Femke & Smid, Geert E. & Wind, Tim R. & Scholte, Willem F., 2014. "In search of links between social capital, mental health and sociotherapy: A longitudinal study in Rwanda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 1-9.
    4. Yu, Ge & Sessions, John G. & Fu, Yu & Wall, Martin, 2015. "A multilevel cross-lagged structural equation analysis for reciprocal relationship between social capital and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 1-8.
    5. Yahya Shadi & Mohammad Hassan Lotfi & Saharnaz Nedjat & Mostafa Amini Rarani & Esmaeil Khedmati Morasae, 2018. "Explaining Unequal Levels of Social Capital in Tehran," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 243-265, November.
    6. Stefan Leenheer & Maurice Gesthuizen & Michael Savelkoul, 2021. "Two-Way, One-Way or Dead-End Streets? Financial and Social Causes and Consequences of Generalized Trust," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 915-937, June.
    7. Wind, Tim R. & Komproe, Ivan H., 2012. "The mechanisms that associate community social capital with post-disaster mental health: A multilevel model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(9), pages 1715-1720.
    8. Chiara Rollero & Silvia Gattino & Norma De Piccoli, 2014. "A Gender Lens on Quality of Life: The Role of Sense of Community, Perceived Social Support, Self-Reported Health and Income," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(3), pages 887-898, May.

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