The association of social capital with depression and quality of life in school-aged children

Abstract

Social capital is an important factor that affects mental health. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between social capital and depression and between social capital and quality of life (QoL) in children in elementary and junior high school and to examine how this relationship differs in relevant patterns at both the individual- and school-level. The study was conducted in all elementary and junior high schools in a single municipality; the subjects consisted of 3,722 elementary school and 3,987 junior high school students (aged from 9 to 15). A multilevel linear mixed effect model analysis revealed that all three subscales of social capital were associated with depression and QoL at the individual-level: The school social capital at the individual-level showed the strongest association with depression and QoL. We also found that some of social capital at the school-level was associated with depression and QoL. An interactive effect was observed between educational stage (elementary and junior high) and some of social capital subscales. Specifically, the inverse association between school social capital and depression was stronger among the junior high students, while the positive association between school and neighborhood social capital and QoL was stronger among the elementary students. These interactions suggest that social capital impacts depression and QoL differently in elementary and junior high students. These findings suggest that the degree of association of social capital domains differs in mental health among the educational stage.

Implementation of online classes during national school closure due to COVID‐19 and mental health symptoms of adolescents: A cross‐sectional survey of 5000 students

“…Previous studies on Japanese adolescents before the COVID‐19 pandemic suggested that poor academic performance, disrupted daily routines, and fewer social interactions were associated with increased depressive and anxiety symptoms. 31 , 32 , 33 Future studies are needed to examine whether these relationships were strengthened by the pandemic.…”

Parental Psychological Control and Depression in Chinese junior Middle School Students: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…School climate refers to the overall quality and character of the school experience, including the emotional and academic support provided by teachers and students, as well as opportunities for autonomy within the classroom [37,38]. A positive school climate can contribute to socialization, which is known to act as a protective factor for adolescents' mental health [14,39] Speci cally, strong connections between individuals, peers, and teachers can provide adolescents with valuable social support, enabling them to better cope with stressors and reduce the occurrence of abnormal psychological behaviors [40][41][42][43].…”

The relationship between neighborhood social capital and health from a biopsychosocial perspective: A systematic review

“…Fourteen studies (Dassopoulos et al, 2012;Hamano et al, 2010;Huang et al, 2021;Huang et al, 2023;Jiang et al, 2020;Jonsson et al, 2020;Lagaert et al, 2021;Maass et al, 2016;Mao et al, 2022;Mohnen et al, 2011Mohnen et al, , 2014Mori et al, 2022;Morozumi et al, 2020;Nieuwenhuis, 2020, 87-92) have been found that address the relationship between NSC and mental health. Some studies look at the concept of mental health in general, others at self-rated health (selfrated health [SRH], life satisfaction [LS], quality of life [QoL]) and there is one specific study for the cognitive function defined in terms of memory, recall and retrieval (Jiang et al, 2020) and two for depression (Huang et al, 2023;Mao et al, 2022).…”