IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v105y2014icp30-37.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social capital, ideology, and health in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Herian, Mitchel N.
  • Tay, Louis
  • Hamm, Joseph A.
  • Diener, Ed

Abstract

Research from across disciplines has demonstrated that social and political contextual factors at the national and subnational levels can impact the health and health behavior risks of individuals. This paper examines the impact of state-level social capital and ideology on individual-level health outcomes in the U.S. Leveraging the variation that exists across states in the U.S., the results reveal that individuals report better health in states with higher levels of governmental liberalism and in states with higher levels of social capital. Critically, however, the effect of social capital was moderated by liberalism such that social capital was a stronger predictor of health in states with low levels of liberalism. We interpret this finding to mean that social capital within a political unit—as indicated by measures of interpersonal trust—can serve as a substitute for the beneficial impacts that might result from an active governmental structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Herian, Mitchel N. & Tay, Louis & Hamm, Joseph A. & Diener, Ed, 2014. "Social capital, ideology, and health in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 30-37.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:105:y:2014:i:c:p:30-37
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.01.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953614000069
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.01.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chung, Haejoo & Muntaner, Carles, 2006. "Political and welfare state determinants of infant and child health indicators: An analysis of wealthy countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 829-842, August.
    2. John F. Helliwell & Shun Wang, 2010. "Trust and Well-being," NBER Working Papers 15911, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Kawachi, I. & Kennedy, B.P. & Glass, R., 1999. "Social capital and self-rated health: A contextual analysis," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(8), pages 1187-1193.
    4. Craig Volden, 2006. "States as Policy Laboratories: Emulating Success in the Children's Health Insurance Program," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(2), pages 294-312, April.
    5. John F. Helliwell, 2006. "Well-Being, Social Capital and Public Policy: What's New?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(510), pages 34-45, March.
    6. Mackenbach, Johan P. & Hu, Yannan & Looman, Caspar W.N., 2013. "Democratization and life expectancy in Europe, 1960–2008," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 166-175.
    7. Ecob, Russell & Davey Smith, George, 1999. "Income and health: what is the nature of the relationship?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 48(5), pages 693-705, March.
    8. Kawachi, I. & Kennedy, B.P. & Lochner, K. & Prothrow-Stith, D., 1997. "Social capital, income inequality, and mortality," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 87(9), pages 1491-1498.
    9. Helliwell, John F., 2003. "How's life? Combining individual and national variables to explain subjective well-being," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 331-360, March.
    10. Fujishiro, Kaori, 2009. "Is perceived racial privilege associated with health? Findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 840-844, March.
    11. Han, Sehee, 2013. "Compositional and contextual associations of social capital and self-rated health in Seoul, South Korea: A multilevel analysis of longitudinal evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 113-120.
    12. Abdul Karim, Syahirah & Eikemo, Terje A. & Bambra, Clare, 2010. "Welfare state regimes and population health: Integrating the East Asian welfare states," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 45-53, January.
    13. Chen, Zhuo & Gotway Crawford, Carol A., 2012. "The role of geographic scale in testing the income inequality hypothesis as an explanation of health disparities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(6), pages 1022-1031.
    14. Veenstra, Gerry, 2000. "Social capital, SES and health: an individual-level analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 50(5), pages 619-629, March.
    15. Giordano, Giuseppe Nicola & Björk, Jonas & Lindström, Martin, 2012. "Social capital and self-rated health – A study of temporal (causal) relationships," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 340-348.
    16. Yip, Winnie & Subramanian, S.V. & Mitchell, Andrew D. & Lee, Dominic T.S. & Wang, Jian & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2007. "Does social capital enhance health and well-being? Evidence from rural China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 35-49, January.
    17. Macy, Jonathan T. & Chassin, Laurie & Presson, Clark C., 2013. "Predictors of health behaviors after the economic downturn: A longitudinal study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 8-15.
    18. Dietlind Stolle & Stuart Soroka & Richard Johnston, 2008. "When Does Diversity Erode Trust? Neighborhood Diversity, Interpersonal Trust and the Mediating Effect of Social Interactions," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 56(1), pages 57-75, March.
    19. Navarro, Vicente & Shi, Leiyu, 2001. "The political context of social inequalities and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 481-491, February.
    20. McGeary, Kerry Anne, 2013. "The impact of state-level nutrition-education program funding on BMI: Evidence from the behavioral risk factor surveillance system," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 67-78.
    21. DeHaven, M.J. & Hunter, I.B. & Wilder, L. & Walton, J.W. & Berry, J., 2004. "Health programs in faith-based organizations: Are they effective?," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(6), pages 1030-1036.
    22. Kim, Daniel & Subramanian, S.V. & Gortmaker, Steven L. & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2006. "US state- and county-level social capital in relation to obesity and physical inactivity: A multilevel, multivariable analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 1045-1059, August.
    23. Kennelly, Brendan & O'Shea, Eamon & Garvey, Eoghan, 2003. "Social capital, life expectancy and mortality: a cross-national examination," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(12), pages 2367-2377, June.
    24. Subramanian, S. V. & Kawachi, Ichiro & Kennedy, Bruce P., 2001. "Does the state you live in make a difference? Multilevel analysis of self-rated health in the US," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 9-19, July.
    25. Dietlind Stolle & Stuart Soroka & Richard Johnston, 2008. "When Does Diversity Erode Trust? Neighborhood Diversity, Interpersonal Trust and the Mediating Effect of Social Interactions," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 56, pages 57-75, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sheabo Dessalegn, S., 2017. "Social capital and maternal health care use in rural Ethiopia," Other publications TiSEM bb0ec225-4ec3-4028-90d6-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Samba Diop & Simplice A. Asongu, 2023. "Trust Institutions, Perceptions of Economic Performance and the Mitigating role of Political Diversity in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 23/013, African Governance and Development Institute..
    3. Hollard, Guillaume & Sene, Omar, 2016. "Social capital and access to primary health care in developing countries: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-11.
    4. Samba Diop & Simplice A. Asongu, 2022. "Trust Institutions, Perceptions of Economic Performance and the Mitigating role of Political Diversity," Working Papers 22/056, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    5. Armenak Antinyan & Thomas Bassetti & Luca Corazzini & Filippo Pavesi, 2020. "Trust in the Healthcare System and COVID-19 Treatment in the Developing World. Survey and Experimental Evidence from Armenia," Working Papers 2020:10, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    6. Haslam, S. Alexander & McMahon, Charlotte & Cruwys, Tegan & Haslam, Catherine & Jetten, Jolanda & Steffens, Niklas K., 2018. "Social cure, what social cure? The propensity to underestimate the importance of social factors for health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 14-21.
    7. Janaki Imbulana Arachchi & Shunsuke Managi, 2023. "The role of social capital in subjective quality of life," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fiorillo, Damiano & Sabatini, Fabio, 2015. "Structural social capital and health in Italy," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 129-142.
    2. Riumallo-Herl, Carlos Javier & Kawachi, Ichiro & Avendano, Mauricio, 2014. "Social capital, mental health and biomarkers in Chile: Assessing the effects of social capital in a middle-income country," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 47-58.
    3. Sabatini, Fabio, 2014. "The relationship between happiness and health: Evidence from Italy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 178-187.
    4. Engström, Karin & Mattsson, Fredrik & Järleborg, Anders & Hallqvist, Johan, 2008. "Contextual social capital as a risk factor for poor self-rated health: A multilevel analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(11), pages 2268-2280, June.
    5. Cary Wu, 2021. "How Stable is Generalized Trust? Internal Migration and the Stability of Trust Among Canadians," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 129-147, January.
    6. Mansyur, Carol & Amick, Benjamin C. & Harrist, Ronald B. & Franzini, Luisa, 2008. "Social capital, income inequality, and self-rated health in 45 countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 43-56, January.
    7. Bowling, Ann & Stafford, Mai, 2007. "How do objective and subjective assessments of neighbourhood influence social and physical functioning in older age? Findings from a British survey of ageing," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 2533-2549, June.
    8. Fiorillo Damiano & Sabatini Fabio, 2011. "Quality and quantity: The role of social interactions in individual health," wp.comunite 0073, Department of Communication, University of Teramo.
    9. Baron-Epel, Orna & Weinstein, Ruth & Haviv-Mesika, Amalia & Garty-Sandalon, Noga & Green, Manfred S., 2008. "Individual-level analysis of social capital and health: A comparison of Arab and Jewish Israelis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 900-910, February.
    10. Poortinga, Wouter, 2006. "Social relations or social capital? Individual and community health effects of bonding social capital," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 255-270, July.
    11. Jennifer M. Mellor & Jeffrey Milyo, 2003. "State Social Capital and Individual Health Status," Working Papers 0310, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago.
    12. Fiorillo, Damiano & Sabatini, Fabio, 2011. "Quality and quantity: The role of social interactions in self-reported individual health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(11), pages 1644-1652.
    13. Brune, Nancy E. & Bossert, Thomas, 2009. "Building social capital in post-conflict communities: Evidence from Nicaragua," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 885-893, March.
    14. Khawaja, Marwan & Abdulrahim, Sawsan & Soweid, Rima A.Afifi. & Karam, Dima, 2006. "Distrust, social fragmentation and adolescents' health in the outer city: Beirut and beyond," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(5), pages 1304-1315, September.
    15. Wei-hsin Yu & Chi-Tsun Chiu, 2016. "Growing Pains: Changes in Psychological Well-Being in Urban China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(3), pages 1349-1382, December.
    16. Naoki Akaeda, 2021. "Welfare States and the Health Impact of Social Capital: Focusing on the Crowding-Out and Crowding-In Perspectives," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 841-862, October.
    17. Tarja Nieminen & Tuija Martelin & Seppo Koskinen & Hillevi Aro & Erkki Alanen & Markku Hyyppä, 2010. "Social capital as a determinant of self-rated health and psychological well-being," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 55(6), pages 531-542, December.
    18. Habibov, Nazim & Cheung, Alex & Auchynnikava, Alena, 2017. "Does social trust increase willingness to pay taxes to improve public healthcare? Cross-sectional cross-country instrumental variable analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 25-34.
    19. Young-joo Ahn, 2020. "Do Informal Social Ties and Local Festival Participation Relate to Subjective Well-Being?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-14, December.
    20. Miething, Alexander & Mewes, Jan & Giordano, Giuseppe N., 2020. "Trust, happiness and mortality: Findings from a prospective US population-based survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:105:y:2014:i:c:p:30-37. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.