An Examination of Social Capital in Young People According to Life Satisfaction and Some Socio-Demographic Factors

Abstract

The premise behind social capital is relatively simple and straightforward: investment in social relations with expected returns. Individuals build relationships and form networks in order to obtain certain returns: physical health, mental health, and life satisfaction. Strong bonds between people with similar characteristics and attitudes will help increase the frequency of interaction and the life satisfaction of an individual. Accordingly, when the relevant literature on this crucial issue was examined, it was found that there are a limited number of studies evaluating the relationship between the social capital and life satisfaction of young people in Turkey. Given the lack of literature, it is essential to determine the relationship between social capital and life satisfaction. This study was aimed and conducted to evaluate the relationship between social capital and life satisfaction between young people. The study data were collected from face-to-face interviews with 500 young people between the ages of 18-29 who were selected using the "convenience sampling method". In this study "Social Capital Scale" and "Satisfaction with Life Scale" was used. Social capital and life satisfaction score mean of the participants is well above the medium level. Social capital level and life satisfaction were found to be positively correlated.