Social capital and self-rated health among older adults

A comparative analysis of Finland, Poland and Spain

Bibliographic Data

ID11199196
AuthorsELENI KOUTSOGEORGOU (0000-0002-3180-7515, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, corresponding author), Fredrica Nyqvist (0000-0001-6554-8040, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare), Mikael Nygård (0000-0002-3928-4114, Åbo Akademi University), MILDA CERNIAUSKAITE (0000-0003-1871-3650, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta), RUI QUINTAS (0000-0002-9472-7176, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta), ALBERTO RAGGI (0000-0002-7433-7779, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta), Matilde Leonardi (0000-0003-0552-8923, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta)
Year2015
Volume35
Issue3
Pages653-667
Publication date2015-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgeing and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0144686x13001025
OpenAlexW1978430516
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited40

The aim of this paper is to investigate the association between structural and cognitive aspects of social capital and self-rated health among adults aged 50 or more, living in three countries: Finland, Poland and Spain. The study, which was based on data from the European Social Survey (2008/09), was a part of the EU research project COURAGE in Europe. More specifically the paper assesses the association between social capital indicators – informal social network and general trust – and good self-rated health through single-level and joint effects analyses. The results showed that Finland was a country of high social capital, in terms of both social networks and general trust, while Spain showed low levels of general trust and Poland low levels of informal social networks. As to the association between social capital and self-rated health, high levels of general trust and high networks were found to be associated with good health among all countries' respondents. Older persons living in partnerships, with higher education, higher levels of engagement in informal networks and general trust, were found to be more likely to show good self-rated health. Our comparative analyses revealed different associations between social capital and health according to country

Association (psychology) · Courage · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · European Social Survey · Political science · Self-rated health · Social capital · Social network (sociolinguistics) · Social science · Sociology · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Capital and Networks

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub