Although the health consequences of financial strain are well documented, less is understood about the health-protective role of social capital. Social capital refers to a sense of community embeddedness, which is in part reflected by group membership, civic participation, and perceptions of trust, cohesion, and engagement. We investigated whether perceptions of social capital moderate the relation between financial strain and health, both mental and physical. This longitudinal study surveyed adults in two communities in rural Ontario where significant job losses recently occurred. Data were collected on financial strain, social capital, perceived stress, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and physical health on three occasions over 18 months (N's = 355, 317, and 300). As expected, financial strain positively related to perceived stress, poor physical health and symptoms of anxiety and depression, whereas social capital related to less stress, better physical health, and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression. Effects of financial strain on perceived stress and depressive symptoms were moderated by social capital such that financial strain related more closely to perceived stress and depressive symptoms when social capital was lower. The findings underscore the health-protective role of community associations among adults during difficult economic times.

No abstract

Objective: Military research has attempted to identify whether women have an increased vulnerability to mental health issues following deployment-related trauma, but findings have been mixed. Most studies have controlled for childhood abuse, but not other non-deployment trauma (e.g. life-threatening illness), which may partly explain previous mixed results. This study assessed gender differences in the association between deployment-related trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while controlling for non-deployment trauma.Methods: Data came from the 2013 Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey. Regular or reserve personnel who had been deployed at least once were included in this study (n = 5980). Logistic regression was used to examine the interaction between gender and deployment-related trauma in predicting lifetime PTSD.Results: After controlling for non-deployment trauma, the association of gender with PTSD went from being significant to being marginally significant. The interaction between gender and deployment-related trauma was not significant.Conclusion: Though controlling for non-deployment trauma did not completely dissipate gender differences in PTSD, such differences were greatly reduced, indicating that these may be partly related to traumatic experiences outside deployment. As gender did not moderate the link between deployment-related trauma and PTSD, the findings suggest that trauma experienced while on deployment does not disproportionately affect women compared to their male counterparts.

No abstract