Associations Between Community Social Capital and Preservation of Functional Capacity in the Aftermath of a Major Disaster.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Gero K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7604520 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:This study examines the hypothesis that social capital can be a foundation for community disaster resilience with an analysis of empirical findings from the August 2018 earthquake recovery on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia, a globally known coastal tourism destination. Positive links between community social capital and community disaster resilience are hypothesized, but the extent to which an iterative and interdependent relationship is co-shaping both is less understood. Social capital can enable collective action, providing self-organized social, psychological, financial and material resources following a disaster, that may otherwise need to be provided externally. In turn, disasters create collective action problems where collective response and recovery process are needed, creating an institutional space where the degree of usefulness, meaning and function of social capital can be shaped, recognized and drawn upon, often where external aid is insufficient. These relationships can be observed following disasters, because individuals and communities are often linked through emotive and meaningful sequences of common experiences, actions and activities. Findings descriptively detail Gili Trawangan's response and recovery process through the events and activities that occurred, and are then theoretically analyzed with a social capital framework including bonding (within group), bridging (between group) and linking (across power and institutional) ties. Three conclusions can be summarized. (1) Community social capital and disaster resilience are iteratively co-shaped through collective experiences, actions and activities. (2) Understanding context is critical for understanding if and to what degree this relationship exists. (3) The mechanism through which social capital enhances resilience is that it can enable collective action that can lead to the provision of needed aid and services.
| S-EPMC7471487 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We examined prospectively whether social capital mitigates the adverse effects of natural disaster on cognitive decline.The baseline for our study was established seven months before the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in a survey of older community-dwelling adults who lived 80 kilometers west of the epicenter (59.0% response rate). Approximately two and a half years after the disaster, the follow-up survey gathered information about personal experiences of disaster as well as incidence of cognitive disability (82.1% follow-up rate). Our primary outcome was cognitive disability (measured on an 8-level scale) assessed by in-home assessment.The experience of housing damage was associated with risk of cognitive impairment (coefficient = 0.04, 95% confidence interval: 0.02 to 0.06). Factor analysis of our analytic sample (n = 3,566) established two sub-scales of social capital: a cognitive dimension (perceptions of community social cohesion) and a structural dimension (informal socializing and social participation). Fixed effects regression showed that informal socializing and social participation buffered the risk of cognitive decline resulting from housing damage.Informal socializing and social participation may prevent cognitive impairment following natural disaster.National Institutes of Health (R01AG042463-04), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
| S-EPMC5801543 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Social capital has been shown to positively influence a multitude of economic, political, and social outcomes. Yet the factors that affect long-run social capital formation remain poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests that early state formation, especially investments in state capacity, are positively associated with higher levels of contemporary social capital and other prosocial attitudes. The channels by which early state capacity leads to greater social capital over time are even less understood. We contribute to both questions using the spatial and temporal expansion of the US postal network during the 19th century. We first show that county-level variation in post office density is highly correlated with a bevy of historical and contemporary indicators of social capital (e.g., associational memberships, civic participation, health, and crime). This finding holds even when controlling for historical measures of development and contemporary measures of income, inequality, poverty, education, and race. Second, we provide evidence of an informational mechanism by which this early investment in infrastructural capacity affected long-run social capital formation. Namely, we demonstrate that the expansion of the postal network in the 19th century strongly predicts the historical and contemporary location of local newspapers, which were the primary mode of impersonal information transmission during this period. Our evidence sheds light on the role of the state in both the origins of social capital and the channels by which it persists. Our findings also suggest that the consequences of the ongoing decline in local newspapers will negatively affect social capital.
| S-EPMC7245116 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPost-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC or 'long COVID') reflect ongoing symptoms, but these are non-specific and common in the wider community. Few reports of PASC have been compared with a control group.AimsTo compare symptoms and objective impairment of functional capacity in patients with previous COVID-19 infection with uninfected community controls.MethodsIn this community-based, cross-sectional study of functional capacity, 562 patients from Western Melbourne who had recovered from COVID-19 infections in 2021 and 2022 were compared with controls from the same community and tested for functional capacity pre-COVID-19. Functional impairment (<85% of the predicted response) was assessed using the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) and 6-min walk distance (6MWD) test. A subgroup underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing before and after exercise training.ResultsOf 562 respondents (age 54 ± 12 years, 69% women), 389 were symptomatic. Functional impairment (<85% predicted metabolic equivalent of tasks) was documented by DASI in 149 participants (27%), and abnormal 6MWD (<85% predicted) was observed in 14% of the symptomatic participants. Despite fewer risk factors and younger age, patients with COVID-19 had lower functional capacity by 6MWD (P < 0.001) and more depression (P < 0.001) than controls. In a pilot group of seven participants (age 58 ± 12 years, two women, VO2 18.9 ± 5.7 mL/kg/min), repeat testing after exercise training showed a 20% increase in peak workload.ConclusionsAlthough most participants (69%) had symptoms consistent with long COVID, significant subjective functional impairment was documented in 27% and objective functional impairment in 14%. An exercise training programme might be beneficial for appropriately selected patients.
| S-EPMC10947235 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Characteristics of social environments are potential risk factors for adolescent injury. Impacts of social capital on the occurrence of such injuries have rarely been explored. METHODS:General health questionnaires were completed by 8910 youth aged 14?years and older as part of the 2010 Canadian Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study. These were supplemented with community-level data from the 2006 Canada Census of Population. Multilevel logistic regression models with random intercepts were fit to examine associations of interest. The reliability and validity of variables used in this analysis had been established in past studies, or in new analyses that employed factor analysis. RESULTS:Between school differences explained 2% of the variance in the occurrence of injuries. After adjustment for all confounders, community social capital did not have any impact on the occurrence of injuries in boys: OR: 1.01, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.29. However, living in areas with low social capital was associated with lower occurrence of injuries in girls (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.96). Other factors that were significantly related to injuries in both genders were younger age, engagement in more risky behaviours, and negative behavioural influences from peers. CONCLUSIONS:After simultaneously taking into account the influence of community-level and individual-level factors, community levels of social capital remained a relatively strong predictor of injury among girls but not boys. Such gender effects provide important clues into the social aetiology of youth injury.
| S-EPMC4717402 | biostudies-other
Project description:Health behavior theories state that social environments influence health behaviors, but theories of how this occurs are relatively underdeveloped. This article systematically surveys community social capital concepts in health behavior literature and proposes a conceptual framework that integrates these concepts into existing behavioral theory. Fifty-three studies tested associations between community social capital concepts and physical activity (38 studies), smoking (19 studies), and diet (2 studies). Trustworthiness of community members was consistently associated with more health-promoting and less disease-promoting behaviors in 19 studies. Neighborly reciprocity showed mixed results in 10 studies. Reporting a good sense of community was associated with more physical activity in only 5 of 16 studies. Neighborhood collective efficacy, which includes social cohesion and informal social control, was inconsistently associated with behaviors in 22 studies. Behavioral social norms were associated with smoking and physical activity in 2 of 6 studies, and neighborhood modeling of physical activity was associated with increased activity in 12 of 17 studies, with 1 opposing result. This review identifies several community social capital-related concepts that are, at times, associated with both health-promoting and disease-promoting behaviors and often have no associations. Theory explains these findings by describing the relationships and interactions among these concepts. Using these findings, this article proposes a conceptual framework that integrates community social capital concepts into existing behavioral theory. Iterative empirically based theory development is needed to address these concepts, which affect behaviors. These results can also inform theoretically based community-based and socially tailored interventions.
| S-EPMC4002661 | biostudies-literature
Project description:After the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident in 2011, there was a strong demand to promote disaster preparedness approaches and health checkups for the prevention of lifestyle diseases. This study examined the yearly change in the percentage of those who prepared for disasters and who utilized health checkups in Fukushima Prefecture, and identified the factors governing disaster preparedness and utilization of health checkups. We used the public opinion survey from 2011 to 2015 (n = 677-779 each year) on prefectural policies that is conducted every year by the Fukushima Prefecture government Public Consultation Unit. We found that the percentage of those who prepare for disasters decreased, while that for health checkups did not significantly change. With regard to disaster preparedness, experiences of disaster enhance disaster preparedness, while bonds with other local people help to maintain preparedness. For health checkups, familiarity with the welfare service was the most important factor governing such consultations. The findings suggest that social capital should be promoted in order to improve disaster preparedness. The findings also suggest that residents' accessibility to medical and welfare services is also important in promoting the utilization of health checkups.
| S-EPMC5877061 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The goal of this article is to outline the analytical perspectives of the concept of social capital regarding health and health management. Social capital, as defined in terms of social networks and resources, has a positive impact on a number of areas, notably the health, well-being, and social and economic development of communities. It is also a useful tool for implementing social policy, especially for marginal populations, the elderly, social assistance payments, etc. An action strategy based on the support and development of networks is the key to achieving the social development, health, and well-being of populations. The social ties promoted by these networks provide people with social, cognitive, and emotional support. This has a direct impact on their self-esteem and sense of personal achievement. They also facilitate access to social resources, including social advancement opportunities. In this paper, we examine the vitality, determinants of health, and health management of Canada’s minority Francophone communities. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.1007/BF03405368 and is accessible for authorized users.
| S-EPMC6975665 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo examine cross-sectional associations between social capital constructs and 1) adolescent lifetime mental disorders, 2) severity of functional impairment, and 3) psychiatric comorbidity.MethodData were from the National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement, a nationally representative mental health survey of 6,483 U.S. adolescents aged 13-18 years. Information from fully-structured diagnostic interviews, including adolescent and caregiver reports, was used to measure seven social capital constructs and lifetime DSM-IV mental disorders (mood, anxiety, behavior, substance use and eating disorder classes). Disorder severity was divided into severe vs. mild/moderate. Comorbidity was measured as the number of different classes of lifetime mental disorders.ResultsAdjusted for socio-demographics and caregivers' mental health, the most consistent associations with adolescent mental disorder were for supportive friendships (any disorder OR = 0.95, 95%CI = 0.91-0.99), family cohesion (OR = 0.81, 95%CI = 0.75-0.86), school bonding (OR = 0.76, 95%CI = 0.71-0.81), and extracurricular participation (OR = 0.90, 95%CI = 0.86-0.95), although results differed by disorder class. Caregiver-reported neighborhood trust and reciprocity and caregiver community involvement were less consistently associated with mental disorder. Medium levels of adolescent-reported affiliation with neighbors was associated with lower odds of mood (OR = 0.81, 95%CI = 0.66-0.98) and anxiety (OR = 0.78, 95%CI = 0.64-0.96) disorder, while high levels were associated with higher odds of behavior disorder (OR = 1.47, 95%CI = 1.16-1.87). Several associations were stronger for severe vs. mild/moderate disorder and with increasing comorbidity.ConclusionAlthough we cannot infer causality, our findings support the notion that improving actual and/or perceived social capital, especially regarding friendships, family, and school, (e.g., through multimodal interventions) could aid in the prevention and treatment of both individual adolescent mental disorders and psychiatric comorbidity.
| S-EPMC8413396 | biostudies-literature
Project description:While previous research has shown that personality shapes social networks, we know very little about the relationship between these important psychological characteristics and the creation of social capital. In this article, we argue that personality shapes individuals' ability to create social capital, and we predict positive associations between each of the Big Five personality traits and social capital. We tested our hypotheses using the Social Survey of the Networks of the Dutch, 2014, which contains data on about 1,069 respondents, including social capital and Big Five personality measures. Our findings showed that personality and social capital were related such that extraversion and openness predicted instrumental social capital, and extraversion, emotional stability, and agreeableness predicted expressive social capital. Conscientiousness benefited instrumental social capital when respondents were older or when social capital was accessed via weak ties. We discuss these findings in light of existing explanations of the creation of social capital.
| S-EPMC6293438 | biostudies-literature