Mediating effects of social capital and social support on the income and health relationship

• Main Author: Gregg, Andrea Kathleen
• Other Authors: Chappell, Neena L.
• Language: English; en
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: Public health; Social capital; UVic Subject Index::Humanities and Social Sciences::Sociology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/965

Conceptualizations of social cohesion, social support, and social capital are often Overlapping. This thesis aims to clarify and operationalize the term social cohesion, and empirically test the mediating effects of social cohesion on the income and health relationship. First, the inequality/social cohesion treatise postulated by Wilkinson (1996) is deconstructed and its limitations extrapolated. Second, relevant literature is drawn upon to create a social cohesion model that is inclusive of both social capital and social support variables. Third, multiple regression statistical analyses is performed using survey data administered to randomly selected middle-aged residents (N=918) of Victoria, British Columbia. It is argued that past research concerning social capital has been hastily conducted and erroneous conclusions have been drawn concerning social capital as a social determinant of health. This research vindicates the hypothesis that a critical re-examination of the social determinants of health literature is necessary.