Influence Of Cultural Capital Research Articles

‘You're Less Complete if You Haven't Got a Can in Your Hand’: Alcohol Consumption and Related Harmful Effects in Rural Australia: The Role and Influence of Cultural Capital

This study aimed to explore rural Australians' perceptions of social and cultural factors influencing alcohol use in their communities. Semi-structured interviews exploring rural community key informants' (n = 46) perceptions of social and cultural factors influencing alcohol consumption in their community were conducted. A narrative analysis identified cultural capital as a salient concept for explaining how rural community life is created and sustained via drinking practices. Themes relating to participants' accounts of learning to drink, normal drinking; exclusion because of not drinking and problematic drinkers are described. In rural communities, beliefs and values about drinking as a positive social practice are transmitted, rewarded and reproduced across multiple groups and settings, reinforcing that drinking is an integral part of Australian rural culture. Drinking is so important that engaging in drinking practices creates and sustains cultural capital. As a result, alcohol-related harm is of little concern to rural dwellers.

Applying Social and Cultural Capital Frameworks: Understanding Employment Perspectives of Transition Age Youth with Serious Mental Health Conditions

Vulnerable transition age youth, such as those in foster care and with serious mental health conditions, are at increased risk for lower rates of employment. Social capital is empirically linked to employment in the general population, yet little is known about the role of social capital in employment for at-risk transition age youth. Focus groups were conducted with young people with serious mental health conditions and their vocational specialists. Discussions reveal that both social and cultural capital influence employment processes. Those with employment experience value the motivation to work provided through others compared to those with no employment experience. Consistently employed describe strong working relationships with vocational specialists and possession of self-awareness, professionalism, and work-place knowledge as critical for employment success, while inconsistently employed describe worries about controlling emotions or behaviors on the job. Building social and cultural capital are explored as potential service provider goals.

Parental Accounts of Children's Asthma Care: The Role of Cultural and Social Capital in Health Disparities

This article explores the roles of cultural and social capital in shaping parental experiences with children's health care in order to better understand how socioeconomic status (SES) functions as a fundamental cause of health disparities. Specifically, accounts given by 53 socioeconomic and racially/ethnically diverse parents about their experiences managing their child's asthmatic health care are considered. Key sources of cultural capital include a college education, being born or raised in the U.S., and employment in the health care field. Cultural capital helped parents solve problems and make informed decisions about health care. Important sources of social capital included relationships with doctors, school nurses, and friends. Social capital helped parents acquire useful recommendations about providers and assisted them in meeting basic health needs. Parents with little economic and cultural capital deployed social capital as a substitute, which was less effective in the health care field. Abilities to harness cultural and social capital varied based on race, ethnicity, and social class with non-Hispanic white/affluent parents being most successful at deploying cultural and social resources. Considerations of how social and cultural capital influence parents' strategies for managing children's chronic illness shed light on the processes that contribute to the persistence of SES-based health disparities.

‘Berlin is Not a Foreign Country, Stupid!’—Growing up ‘Global’ in Eastern Germany

In this paper we analyse how young East Germans come to be differentially placed in global network space through their socioeconomically and culturally specific engagements with globalised mediascapes and ethnoscapes. We call for greater awareness of the power differentials which shape globalisation, and draw on the theoretical work of Pierre Bourdieu to show how unequal access to social and cultural capital influences and is reflected in the ‘glocal’ connections through which young people develop and perform their identities. Further, we seek to understand how these differential engagements impact on young people's future trajectories through the development of different competencies. We contend that, precisely how young people are positioned in networks of global–local connectivity matters profoundly, both for the performance of their present identities, and for their future life chances.