Social Capital Questionnaire Research Articles

A Study on the Development of a Social Capital Questionnaire for a School Community

A Study on the Development of a Social Capital Questionnaire for a School Community

Development of the social capital questionnaire in Greece

The Greek version of the social capital questionnaire (SCQ-G) was evaluated in a sample of 521 adults drawn from three different urban areas in Greece. Exploratory factor analysis followed by multi-trait scaling yielded six factors: Participation in the Community, Feelings of Safety, Family/Friends Connections, Value of Life and Social Agency, Tolerance of Diversity, and Work Connections. The factor solution is similar to the patterns identified originally in Australia and the US. Variations suggest that social capital does not share the same structure in different countries. The SCQ-G is a useful scale to measure individual-level social capital in Greece. Social capital measurement tools should be validated in each cultural or national setting in which they are used.

Further development of an Australian-based measure of social capital in a US sample

Social capital is an increasingly popular construct in research examining social and behavioral determinants of health and well-being. Yet, comparing the results of social capital research is inhibited by inconsistencies in labeling, different definitions and subsequent disagreement on level of analysis, and limited evaluation of the psychometric properties of measures of social capital. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Social Capital Questionnaire (Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 36(1) (2000) 23). In the current study, the original Australian-based instrument was modified for telephone administration with a US sample. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a similar factor structure to that found during initial survey development. These findings lend support to the notion of social capital as a meaningful construct and suggest the Onyx and Bullen instrument deserves further attention as a practical tool for health researchers and community agencies interested in social capital.

How much does social capital add to individual health?

Some Russians are healthier than others. To what extent does their health vary with involvement or exclusion from social capital networks? The first section reviews alternative theories: human capital as the primary determinant; social capital, whether generic, situation-specific or simply a new label for old measures of social integration; or a composite theory — both human and social capital are major determinants of health. The evidence to test hypotheses consists of individual-level data about self-assessed physical and emotional health from the special-purpose social capital questionnaire used in the 1998 New Russia Barometer survey, a nationwide representative sample of the adult Russian population. Multiple regression analysis shows that on their own human capital and social capital each account for a notable amount of variance in health. When both forms of capital are combined in a composite model, each retains major influence, demonstrating that social capital does make an independent contribution to health. Significant social capital influences include involvement or exclusion from formal and informal networks; friends to rely on when ill; control over one’s own life; and trust. Significant human capital influences besides age include subjective social status, gender and income. Regression-based estimates of impact show that social capital increases physical and emotional health more than human capital; together they can easily raise an individual’s self-reported health from just below average on a five-point scale to approaching good health.

Social capital: an investment of “self” in children's learning

The concept, Social Capital, is devoting oneself affectively through implementing the CDA teaching behaviors so as to assure that children learn, like learning, and know how to learn. Since SC was previously verified as embodying five elements, the concept was investigated, using the “Preschool Teachers’ Social Capital Questionnaire.” The subjects were 168 ECE teachers in both N.Y. [70] and D.C. [98], and their data were computed for appropriate measures of central tendency, variability, and relationships. The findings were: [1] subjects reported being trained in SC in their degree programs; [2] the five dimensions of SC were related to each other for teaching behaviors; [3] all SC dimensions except persistence#sh continuity over time related significantly to each other on all variables when examined separately; [4] persistence#shcontinuity over time was the one SC dimension that was positive but not significantly related to the others on training and investment of effort. Conclusion: The positive relatio...