Low Social Capital Research Articles

Toward a Prognostic Model for Mortality Risk in Older People Living With HIV: A Prospective Cohort Study From Southwestern China

ObjectiveThe existing prognostic models for mortality risk in people living with HIV (PLWH) may not be applicable for older PLWH because the risk factors were confined to biomarkers and clinical variables. We developed and validated a nomogram for the prognosis of all-cause mortality in older PLWH based on comprehensive predictors. DesignProspective cohort study. Setting and ParticipantsWe included 824 participants aged ≥50 years (mean age, 64.0 ± 7.6 years) from 30 study sites in Sichuan, China, and followed up from Nov 2018 to Mar 2021. MethodsData on demographics, biomarkers, and clinical indicators were extracted from the registry; mental and social factors were assessed by a survey. Elastic net was used to select predictors. A nomogram was developed based on Cox proportional hazards regression model to visualize the relative effect size (points) of the selected predictors. The prognostic index (PI) was calculated by summing points of all predictors to quantify mortality risk. ResultsPredictive performance of PI from the nomogram was good, with area under the curve of 0.76 for the training set, and 0.77 for the validation set. Change in CD4 count, virological failure in antiretroviral therapy, and living with comorbidities were robust predictors. Depressive symptoms were an important predictor in men, those aged ≥65 years, and those with time of diagnosis <1 year; low social capital was an additional predictor in people aged <65. Mortality risk increased approximately 10-fold among participants whose PI was in the fourth quartile compared with those in the first quartile (hazard ratio, 9.5; 95% CI, 2.9–31.5). Conclusion and ImplicationsAlthough biological and clinical factors are crucial predictors, mental and social predictors are essential for specific groups. The developed nomogram is useful for identifying risk factors and groups at risk of mortality in older PLWH.

Childhood social capital and drug use disorder in adulthood: A retrospective study on antecedent determinants of the type of drug use.

Based on a sample of Danish adults who were enroled in treatment for drug use disorders as a prerequisite for qualifying for receiving unemployment benefits, we analyse the relationship between low social capital in childhood (LSCC) and the type of drug use in adulthood. The type of drug use is measured by distinguishing between those who were treated for using hard drugs (e.g., heroin and cocaine) and those who were treated for using soft drugs (cannabis). Extracting data from the initial treatment registration report, social capital is operationalised into seven different LSCC categories, and the total number of LSCC (the LSCC score) is recorded. Based on logistic regressions, the LSCC score shows a strong graded dose-response relationship with hard drug use. With each additional LSCC, the probability of being treated for hard drug use increases with 9%. Parental child abuse is the most important single predictor of being treated for hard drug use. Having been parentally abused as a child raises the probability by 32%. The results hold after controlling for age, initiation age, and number of years of drug use, all of which show a significant reversed U-shaped relationship with hard drug use.

The (negative) effects of inequality on Social Capital

AbstractInequality is perhaps one of the most challenging issues of our time. Empirical literature, using observational data, indicates that higher inequality is associated with lower social capital. Oftentimes, however, the causal effects of inequality are difficult to establish based on survey and empirical observations. To this end, we review a large body of experimental literature and assess the causal effects of inequality on experimental proxies for social capital. We find compelling evidence that inequality undermines trust, discourages cooperation, and encourages unethical behaviors. The overall effect on generosity is, however, less clear.

Immigration and Public Support for Political Systems in Europe

Immigration and growing diversity have been linked with pathologies such as lower social capital, the rise of authoritarian populists, intergroup conflict, and perhaps the breakdown of democracy itself. At the heart of this complex is a question relating to migration and political culture: whether immigration erodes the attitudes that sustain and legitimize democratic political systems. This paper takes a time-series, cross-sectional approach to this question by analyzing the effects of a comprehensive set of measures of immigration on dynamic estimates of trust in democratic institutions, satisfaction with democracy, and democratic support from 30 European countries. The results show that immigration does not undermine any of these forms of public support for political systems. Indeed, under some circumstances, immigration may increase public trust in democratic institutions.

The Role of Entrepreneurial Personality Mediation and Technological Competencies Moderation in Determining Entrepreneurial Intentions in Vocational Education

The importance of intention in producing graduates who are ready for entrepreneurship has not been addressed indepth invocational education. The lack of entrepreneurial personality that is supported by technological competence is the main problem. In addition, low social and psychological capital is a consequence of theseproblems. This study examines the determination of the influence of social and psychological capital, and entrepreneurial personality on entrepreneurial intentions. In addition, the entrepreneurial personality is tested for its role as a mediator and the moderating effect of technological competence is tested, which includes technological capacity and capability. Ex-post facto research was conducted involving 647 participants. Data were collected through the entrepreneurial intention scale questionnaire. SEM analysis was used to test the direct effect relationship based on the path coefficient and the mediation and moderating effect based on the bootstrap results. Findings revealed that social and psychological capital, and entrepreneurial personality have a significant effect on entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurial personality plays a significant role in mediating the effect of social capital, but not on the influence of psychological capital. Meanwhile, capacity and capability only play a significant role in moderating the influence of social capital, even though technological capabilities are cansignificantly moderate entrepreneurial personality. These results indicate the importance of social and psychological capital, and entrepreneurial personality as an important foundation for the formation of entrepreneurial intentions in vocational education students. On the other hand, technological competence is very important in strengthening social capital to stimulate the growth of entrepreneurial intentions.

Memory impairment and its associated risk and protective factors among older adults in Indonesia

Aims This study aimed to evaluate the association between memory impairment and its risk and protective factors, focusing on demographic and health-related variables among older adults in Indonesia. Method The data analyzed were the Indonesian Family Life Survey-5 (IFLS-5) using cross-sectional variables of 4236 older adults aged 60 years and over included in the 2015 round. Memory impairment was assessed by immediate word list recall from the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). Sociodemographic factors and multiple health variables were included as predictors. Data were analyzed using frequency analyses bivariate and stepwise logistic regression tests. Result Among 4236 older adults, 49.7% were male and 50.3% were female. Stepwise backward analyses showed that memory impairment was independently associated with older age, being female, or not in a union (unmarried, separated, divorced, or widowed), having obtained low levels of education, living in a rural area, reporting low life satisfaction, low social capital, higher dependency, and having clinical depression. Only moderate (but not high or low) physical activity levels were associated with a lower risk. Being underweight increased the risk, but being overweight/obese (as assessed by BMI) protective factors for a lower immediate recall score. Conclusion Increasing education and continued engagement of older adults in psychosocial activities, including moderate physical activity, improving mental health, preventing weight loss, and maintaining functional ability to decrease dependency, are associated with increased episodic memory, especially in non-married and older women in rural areas of Indonesia.

Workforce diversity and financial statement readability

AbstractThe Securities and Exchange Commission has associated readability with a range of linguistic features largely determined by the language style of the information producers, including sentence length and the use of personal pronouns, familiar words, surplus words and active voice. We examine the impact of a firm's workforce ethnic diversity on its financial statement readability. Based on linguistic literature, we argue that a more diverse workforce increases the linguistic heterogeneity of the inputs into financial statements, hindering financial statement readability. We show that financial statement readability decreases with the ethnic diversity of the workforce, and that this effect is more pronounced for firms located in a community with a high crime rate or low social capital. We also find that the market reacts less to the earnings surprises of firms with less readable financial statements. We further find that the impact of white‐collar employee diversity on readability is greater than that of blue‐collar employee diversity. The results of robustness tests suggest that workplace diversity does not reduce firms' overall information production quality, which rules out the alternative explanation that employee diversity hinders financial statement readability through increasing employee conflict and communication errors. Overall, our study suggests that workforce diversity is an important determinant of financial statement readability.

Suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic: Uncovering demographic and regional variation in the United States and associations with unemployment and depression

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened risk factors for suicide globally. Using prominent sociocultural theories of suicide, we investigated whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected suicide rates differently across demographic groups and regions in the United States of America. In Study 1, we found that after 2020 suicide rates increased especially among young Black and Alaskan Native populations. Conditional process analyses were conducted to shed light on racial disparities in the temporal impact of unemployment on suicide from 2018 to 2021. The results showed that suicides among younger Asians and Blacks were affected by the surge in unemployment, whereas Whites, especially the older population, benefitted from the increased unemployment. In Study 2, we explored the regional variation in the temporal associations between suicide, unemployment, and depression across the 50 U.S. states from 2019 to 2021 taking into account pre-pandemic between-state conditions. Multilevel regression analyses showed that urbanism (characterized by low firearm proportion, high income, high cultural looseness, and high population density) but not social integration (characterized by low social capital, high collectivism, and high southerness), partially explained the regional variation in the temporal pattern of suicide rates. We also found that in states with already high depression levels, the temporal increase in depression predicted increases in suicide from 2019 to 2021, whereas it had minimal impact in states with low average depression. We emphasize the need for future theories to consider longitudinal designs and highlight two key takeaways: (1) the pandemic reshaped racial disparities in suicide, and (2) the temporal effects brought by the national crisis on suicide patterns depended on existing between-state differences.

THE INFLUENCE OF POPULATION SURVEYS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL

Population surveys represent an extremely important quantitative method, giving valuable details in regard to the great diversity of characteristics of a state’s population at a certain time. Even though it is extremely important and they are mandatory by nature, the population survey that was done this year in Romania was negatively affected by a series of issues, having to do with the low participation rate which had as a result the postponing of the deadline several times. This situation highlighted the negative attitude that usually the citizens have in connection to state authorities. Social capital, which is mostly based on trust, has a huge rule on the success of the survey. If we are talking about a low social capital, this will usually materialise in a lack of participation of the citizens in the process, but when participation increases this leads to the development of social capital. These two aspects, the survey process on one hand, and social capital on the other hand, have an interdependence, being marked by a people's history, civic culture and education.

MENTAL HEALTH IMPACT OF DISCRIMINATION: THE PROTECTIVE FUNCTION OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IN DIVERSE GROUPS OF OLDER ADULTS

Abstract Discrimination occurs in complex social contexts leading to various levels and types of outcomes. Although the negative health impact of discrimination is well-documented, there is a need to investigate patterns among discrimination, social factors, and health outcomes in diverse racial/ethnic groups of older adults to inform interventions. For example, social capital, such as social cohesion, social ties, and safety, is anticipated to be directly associated with mental health and also to modify the impact of discrimination. In the present study, we examined (1) racial/ethnic differences in perceived discrimination, social capital, and depressive symptoms and (2) the direct effect of perceived discrimination and social capital, as well as their interactions, on depressive symptoms among different racial/ethnic groups. Data were drawn from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) Round 3 (2,988 non-Hispanic Whites, 719 non-Hispanic Blacks, and 499 Hispanics; 68 mean age). Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks had a significantly higher level of perceived discrimination, lower social capital, and more depressive symptoms. Findings from multivariate linear regression models demonstrated that, in all racial/ethnic groups, frequent experiences of discrimination and low levels of social capital were associated with increased symptoms of depression. A significant interaction between discrimination and social cohesion was observed in non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics. In both groups, the negative impact of discrimination was lower among those with higher levels of social cohesion. Our findings support efforts such as improving well-being for older adults by promoting age-friendly communities to build greater social cohesion.

“Are They Going to Play Nicely?” Parents’ Evaluations of Young Children’s Play Dates

Over the last 20 years, opportunities for young children to engage in self-directed free play with peers outdoors or during the school day has dramatically declined. Consequently, it is likely that play dates, defined as pre-arranged social contact at home, have become increasingly significant play environments for children. Preliminary research suggests that play dates are positively associated with young children’s social and emotional development, but that access can be strongly influenced by parental social networking priorities. However, little is currently known about the nature and frequency of play dates, the types of play children engage in, or the impact of parental management and supervision on children’s play in this context. Exploratory qualitative research is essential to understand the extent to which parental gatekeeping may limit opportunities for children and families perceived to have low social capital, and to begin to define the nature and content of young children’s play dates more broadly. Parents of children aged 5-6 years old took part in a semi-structured interview to describe common practices and attitudes (N = 11). Inductive thematic analysis indicated that play dates are complex play environments that parents associate with a range of social, emotional, and cognitive benefits for children. However, close parental monitoring and supervision may limit the extent to which play dates provide opportunities for self-directed free play. Findings also show that access to play dates is strongly influenced by parents’ motivations to enhance children’s social status which restricts access to some children. Implications for future research are discussed.

Relationship between social capital and depressive symptoms: Differences according to resilience and gender in the Shika study

• This is a community-based cross-sectional study of middle-aged and elderly residents of Shika town, Ishikawa, Japan. • The social capital of middle-aged and elderly females is significantly higher than that of males. • Middle-aged and elderly females with low resilience and low social capital were associated with higher depressive symptoms. • Middle-aged and elderly with low resilience and low social capital were associated with higher suicidal thoughts in both males and females. Although the relationship between social capital (SC) and depressive symptoms has been reported in several studies, resilience and gender differences alter those relationships have not yet been elucidated. Therefore, this study cross-sectionally investigated the relationship between SC and depressive symptoms, including suicidal thoughts, based on resilience and gender differences in community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly individuals in Shika town, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. : A total of 312 participants older than forty years (149 males and 163 females) were included in the analysis. We assessed depressive symptoms, social capital, and resilience using the Japanese version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), SC scale, and the resilience scale (RS), respectively. : Two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that in the low RS group, the BDI of the low SC group was significantly higher than that of the high SC group ( p = 0.001). Furthermore, multiple logistic regression analysis showed that SC was significantly associated with high BDI in the low RS group, but not in the high RS group (odds ratio = 0.498, 95% confidence interval = 0.328, 0.755, p = 0.001). : The present study concluded that low RS and low SC were associated with high depressive symptoms, especially among females. Our findings suggest that increasing SC may be useful in preventing and improving depressive symptoms in less resilient females. Further longitudinal studies are needed to emotional that causal relationship among SC, RS, and BDI.

CO-HOUSING: A SOLUTION TOWARD SUSTAINABLE SETTLEMENT IN BATAM CITY

The increasing population urges the need for space as a place to live in urban areas with limited land. In addition, the population of Batam City are dominated by millennials with low financial ability but high social capital. That can trigger the construction of illegal houses, which sometimes do not meet the criteria for settlements that are slums, reaching fifteen hectares in the Belian Village of Batam City Sub-District. It is necessary to adapt collaborative housing (co-housing) with minimal land use. However, it can provide space as a place to live and socialize as much as possible, including residents in building management. The methodology of this research is a qualitative method with a descriptive approach to the condition of the city of Batam, which is observed directly by paying attention to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as co-housing design considerations. Thus, this study resulted in recommendations for the design of co-housing buildings with facilities and features close to the site, spatial layout and planning that are to the needs of the target user, a property model that is by the user's abilities, and screening and curation process that the user can accept. The sustainability of settlements can also be the result of adapting the co-housing concept in Batam.

Synergistic Interaction between Job Stressors and Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Psychosocial job stressors increase the risk of mental health problems for the workers in health and social services (HSS). Although previous studies suggest that the accumulation of two or more stressors is detrimental to mental health, few studies have examined the synergistic interaction of accumulating job stressors. We examined survey responses from 9855 Finnish HSS workers in a cross-sectional study design from 2021. We conducted an interaction analysis of high job demands, low rewards and low workplace social capital on psychological distress, focusing on the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI). Additionally, we analysed the interaction of job demands, low rewards and COVID-19 burden (extra workload and emotional load). Our analysis showed that the total RERI for the job stressors on psychological distress was considerable (6.27, 95% CI 3.14, 9.39). The total excess risk was caused by two-way interactions, especially between high demands and low rewards and by the three-way interaction of all stressors. The total RERI for job demands, low reward and COVID-19 burden (3.93, 95% CI 1.15, 6.72), however, was caused entirely by two-way interaction between high demands and low rewards. Mental health interventions tackling high demands, low rewards and low social capital are jointly needed.

Social Capital and Self-Rated Health: A Cross-Sectional Study among Rural Japanese Working Residents.

Social capital is positively associated with self-rated health; however, this association among workers is still unclear. Thus, this study examined the relationship between social capital and self-rated health with special attention to the employment type. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 6160 workers aged 20-64 years from two towns in Mie Prefecture in January-March 2013. Social capital was assessed using five items in 4816 income-earning workers. The social capital scores were summed and then divided into three groups. The self-rated health responses were dichotomised into 'poor' and 'good'. The association was examined using a stepwise binomial logistic regression stratified by employment type and adjusted for potential confounders. Regular employees with low social capital had a higher significant odds ratio of poor self-rated health than medium (OR 0.58 95% CIs 0.39-0.87) and high (OR 0.39; 95% CIs 0.26-0.59) social capital levels after controlling for all potential confounders. Similar patterns were observed for non-regular employees with medium and high social capital. There was a significant relationship between some indicators of social capital and poor self-rated health among self-employees. These results highlight that social capital acts as an unequal health resource for different types of workers.

The impact of country-level structural stigma on loneliness and social capital in older and younger LGB individuals in 113 countries

Abstract Background The mental health gap between sexual minorities and heterosexuals remains a pressing issue for policy makers and scholars. In past years, numerous studies from the US found support for the vast impact structural stigma on a state level can have on the lives of LGB individuals. However, most research has been conducted within a US context and research capturing structural stigma on a country level remains scarce. In the current study we aim to close this gap by examining whether country-level structural stigma can explain loneliness and social capital among sexual minorities across the world and testing whether these relationships are different for LGB individuals from different age groups. Methods The current study analysed a sample of over 7000 LGB people from across 113 European and non-European countries to examine the influence of country-level structural stigma on individual level loneliness and social capital. Results Multilevel models showed that the greater structural stigma present in a country, the lower social capital was experienced by LGB respondents (b = -0.05, 95% CI: -0.07, -0.02, p &amp;lt; 0.001). This relationship was unaffected by respondent age. Further, multilevel models showed the following for loneliness as an outcome: The greater structural stigma present in a country, the more loneliness was experienced by LGB individuals (b = .01, 95% CI: .01, .21, p = .048). Furthermore, this relationship was moderated by respondent age (b = -.03, 95% CI: -.06, -.01, p = .01), in the sense that younger LGB people showed significantly higher levels of loneliness than older LGB people in countries with greater, but not lesser, levels of structural stigma. These effects remained robust to adjustment for demographics as well as adding country-level covariates. Conclusions The findings of this study demonstrate the impact structural stigma on a country level can have on LGB individuals’ loneliness and social capital, differing for older and younger individuals.

The social capital effect on HIV/AIDS preventive efforts: a meta-analysis

HIV/AIDS is one of the sexually transmitted diseases that cause death worldwide. Its prevalence increases due to low prevention behaviour. The study aimed to estimate the effect of social capital on HIV/AIDS preventive efforts. This study was a meta-analysis and systematic analysis. We retrieved articles from PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar from 2008-2021. The inclusion criteria were full-text articles with observational design and articles published in English. We focused on the problems of the PICO study, namely: population=men and women who were sexually active; intervention=high social capital; comparison=low social capital; outcome=HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. The articles were collected using the PRISMA flow diagram. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 with a random effect model. The study included 12 articles. The likelihood of sexually active men and women with high social capital to perform HIV/AIDS prevention efforts was 1.55 times higher than those with low social capital (aOR=1.55; CI 95%=1.11 to 2.16; p=0.009).

An Intersectional Reading of Women's Access to Rural Land Ownership in Côte d'Ivoire

Women's access to land ownership in Côte d'Ivoire remains a challenge despite a multitude of legal and institutional arsenal favouring their access to land ownership. Moreover, Article 12 of the Ivorian Constitution reaffirms equal access to property for women and men. However, it is clear that the above-mentioned difficulties persist. What are the explanatory elements of land insecurity in rural areas for women? The legal and institutional elements alone are not sufficient to understand this work. Beyond the usual explanatory factors, a reading based on intersectionality allows for an in-depth analysis. In fact, this work first highlights the modes of land tenure and their recompositions, the modes of access and their recompositions, and the organisation of society structures access to land and agrarian practices. Since these elements alone are not sufficient to explain the existence of structural gaps and inequalities of access between women, the theory of intersectionality through the concepts of ethnicity, gender and class (social position and social capital that engenders mobilisable economic, social and political resources). The content analysis enabled the categorisation of women and highlighted the positionalities that facilitate or hinder their access to land ownership. In the end, this study showed that there are inequalities between women in access to land ownership insofar as those with low social capital cannot benefit from full access to their land rights, which confirms our central hypothesis that women's access to land ownership is a function of patrilineal and matrilineal societies and modes of land tenure and their recomposition, associated with the intersection of women's economic, social and political resources in Côte d'Ivoire.

Class inequalities in access to social capital in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires

this paper analyzes social class inequalities in access to social capital. Quantitative methodology was used with data from the PI-Clases “Reproduction and social mobility in family trajectories and life courses” survey, conducted in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires in 2015 (n = 1065). Social capital measures where derived from the Position Generator (Lin, 2001) to identify the volume, status and range of the respondent’s networks. Results show that there are class inequalities in access to social capital in terms of the number of contacts, mean status of contacts, range of contact’s status and highest status of contacts. Also, the working class is more heterogeneous in its access to social capital, suggesting it has a sector that has network ties with people from the middle class and a sector with lower social capital. The observed trend is of gradational differences between class strata, with more marked inequalities between the service, intermediate and working class, but with fluid class boundaries without social segregation. Also, social capital is conditioned by intergenerational mobility trajectory, showing a trend of elasticity in the class composition of social relationships. The upwardly mobile can increase their access to social capital but don’t reach the same level as the intergenerationally stable, while the downwardly mobile retain some social capital from their class origins.

Regional inequalities of tumour size at diagnosis in Germany: An ecological study in eight federal states.

There is growing recognition of the importance of the residential environment for early detection of cancer. However, few studies have investigated area socioeconomic deprivation, social capital, and rurality in combination. Therefore, we aimed to estimate mutually adjusted associations of these characteristics with tumour size at diagnosis in Germany. We included incident cases of female breast cancer, colorectal cancer, malignant melanoma, uterine cancer, and male bladder cancer, collected by the cancer registries of eight German federal states between 2010 and 2014. Using information on T status at diagnosis, we defined an advanced tumour size for each cancer type. Sex-specific mutually adjusted associations of area socioeconomic deprivation, social capital, and rurality with an advanced tumour size and variance partition coefficients were estimated in multilevel logistic regression. Missing data of the outcome were addressed by multiple imputation. Overall, 386 223 cases were included in this analysis. High area socioeconomic deprivation was associated with an advanced tumour size at diagnosis of colorectal cancer and malignant melanoma. For malignant melanoma, low social capital was associated with an advanced tumour size among females and males, while a rural settlement structure was associated with an advanced tumour size among males only. Since meaningful general contextual effects were found for malignant melanoma, our results underscore that the residential environment is an important predictor of melanoma tumour size. Secondary prevention programmes for this cancer type should target areas with high area socioeconomic deprivation, low social capital, and a rural settlement structure in order to reach those most vulnerable.