Social capital and mental illness: a systematic review

Silva, Mary J De; McKenzie, Kwame; Harpham, Trudy; Huttly, Sharon

doi:10.1136/jech.2004.029678

Cited by 818 publications

(698 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Scholars often argue that bonding networks allow the deprived to ''get by'' by instantly mobilizing resources to relieve their deprivation; thin or bridging networks, alternatively, are needed to ''get ahead'' by, for instance, providing job offers that flow between weak ties (Putnam 2000;de Souza Briggs 1998;Narayan 1999). On the other hand, immaterial support from networks might buffer the stress and lower self-esteem associated with economic hardship (De Silva et al 2005;Uphoff et al 2013). Therefore, the second hypothesis states: social ties positively moderate the negative relationship between socioeconomic hardship and well-being (H2).…”

Section: Buffering the Consequences Of Economic Hardshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Hardship and Well-Being: Examining the Relative Role of Individual Resources and Welfare State Effort in Resilience Against Economic Hardship

Reeskens

Vandecasteele

2016

J Happiness Stud

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With the aftermath of the economic crisis starting to fold out, the extent and the conditions under which the experience of economic hardship thwarts subjective well-being spark academic interest. In this paper, we examine the cushioning impact of three immaterial buffers embedded within civil society-namely social networks, religiosity, and confidence in politics-in combination with the cushioning role of the welfare state. Analyzing the 2010 wave of the European Social Survey, the results confirm that the experience of economic hardship is inversely related to happiness. All three proposed protective measures cushion the negative impact of economic strain on happiness, whereby the positive effect of social networks and confidence in politics is stronger in countries with lower levels of social expenditure. The latter finding provides some evidence for the crowding out-thesis but mainly suggests that a strong welfare state can take over the role of protective buffers in civil society, which is helpful as such buffers are less present among the most vulnerable social groups. The results of the analysis are discussed in relation to social science research and public policy.

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Section: Buffering the Consequences Of Economic Hardshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Hardship and Well-Being: Examining the Relative Role of Individual Resources and Welfare State Effort in Resilience Against Economic Hardship

Reeskens

Vandecasteele

2016

J Happiness Stud

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“…Many researchers have taken social capital into consideration in attempts to identify factors that improve the health status of people in communities and implement proper intervention to deal with various health issues. Additionally, researchers have identified the association between social capital and better mental health as well as other health outcomes in the community [4][5][6][7]. Several systematic reviews have indicated that social capital, assessed at the individual level, is consistently associated with better mental health, including psychiatric symptoms and mental disorders [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social capital and suicide: an ecological study in Tokyo, Japan

Okamoto

Kawakami

Kido

et al. 2012

Environ Health Prev Med

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Objective The aim of this study is to clarify the association between area-based social capital and suicide rate among municipalities of Tokyo. Methods The study areas were 20 administrative municipalities of Tokyo. Social capital (i.e., organizational membership, social trust, fairness, helpfulness, and confidence in organizations) was measured based on data from a previous survey (response rate 28 %). Gender-specific ageadjusted suicide rates averaged over 5 years, sociodemographic, and other area characteristics were obtained from relevant national statistics. Multiple linear regression analysis of suicide rates was applied on each social capital variable, adjusting for the other area characteristics. Results There was no significant crude Pearson's correlation between any social capital variable and suicide rate. Multiple regression analyses revealed a significant negative association between social trust and suicide rate for men (p = 0.04). Conclusions While based on only limited evidence from a cross-sectional ecological study, area-based social trust may be associated with decreased suicide rates for men in Tokyo.

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“…2 This study suggests that the three predominant hypotheses; psychosocial stressors, concentrated 3 disadvantage and selective migration, only partially explain the association between cities and poor 4 mental health. Other possible explanations that have been gaining impetus recently include levels 5 of air or noise pollution (Haines et al, 2001;WHO, 2014a), reduced access to green space (Lee and 6 Maheswaran, 2011), or reduced levels of social support (DeSilva, 2005). A recent study found that 7 living close to an urban park had the same mental health benefits as decreasing local unemployment 8 rates by 2 percentage points, suggesting at least the potential of environmental interventions to 9 improve population mental health (Sturm and Cohen, 2014).…”

Section: Discussion 34mentioning

confidence: 99%