Brain Blogger Home
  • Home
  • About
    • Editor's Note
    • Contributors
  • Advertise
  • Archives
    • By Author
    • By Topic
    • By Year
    • By Month
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Topics
    • Popular
    • Series
    • Video
    • Carnivals
  • Sitemap
  • Subscribe
  • Neuroscience & Neurology
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Health & Healthcare
  • More >>
    • BioPsychoSocial Health
    • Complementary & Alternative Medicine
    • Drugs & Clinical Trials
    • History of Medicine
    • Law & Politics
    • Living with a Brain Disorder
    • Opinion
    • Site News
    • Stigmatization
Brain Blogger RSS Feed

Brain Blogger Feed - 3500+ Readers

Follow BB:

Brain Blogger on FaceBook Brain Blogger on twitter Brain Blogger on Flickr Brain Blogger on YouTube
BioPsychoSocial Health
November 29, 2008

How Much Social Capital Do You Have?

By Melissa E. Malka | 2 Comments | Share | Print | Email | Tweet | Like | 1+

If you were starting a business, you’d hope to acquire as much capital as you could: property, relevant tools, employees, and so on. As individuals, we strive to improve our human capital, or our economic value. We earn college degrees, take continuing education courses, attempt to expand our knowledge and master our respective fields. The more we know, the more we’re worth and it makes perfect sense (and boosts our pay!).

Yet, perhaps more attention should be paid to the value of social capital. A concept with several definitions and applications in practically every field, social capital for our purposes can be defined as

the quantity and quality of social relationships such as formal and informal social connections as well as norms of reciprocity and trust that exist in a place of community.

Social capital extends to more than just the number of friendships or professional relationships a person can maintain, it’s more to do with how well you can access or employ those connections to benefit yourself (and others).

PencilsDr. Ching-Hsing of Chang Gung Institute of Technology, Taiwan, compiled data from several published articles discussing the concept of social capital and its implication in both individual and community health. As an individual, there is a positive relationship between our social capital and our physical and emotional health, and the inverse also applies. But, social capital doesn’t just refer to individuals, it can apply to communities, towns, and cities. The concept itself is difficult to quantitatively measure. Calculating the number of members involved in voluntary work within a society is one aspect that can be measured but it’s not a tell-all.

The key to social capital is reciprocity, and how much mutual assistance can be expected. In interpersonal relationships between friends, colleagues, and groups in a community, the better the social capital, the better the health of the environment, the community, and the people who reside in it.

Good social capital isn’t all good; I’m sure that several widely supported social movements that didn’t necessarily contribute anything good to society can come to mind. Gangs, organized crime, Hitler: great social support, not-so-great intentions.

In terms of an individual, it’s hard to calculate our own social capital and find ways to improve it. Some of us may have been born into a better situation or earned our social capital through high-ranking positions at prestigious organizations. Others may have had to give a lot before they could start reaping the benefits of reciprocity.

Social capital can be a powerful asset though, for individuals, businesses, and communities alike. It’s networking to the next level and the ability not to be heard, but to be valued. And, its yet another component that affects our health. In my opinion, I’d say emotional more so than physical, but I’m not certain I have enough social capital on this blog yet.

References

Anne W Taylor, Carmel Williams, Eleonora Dal Grande, Michelle Herriot (2006). Measuring social capital in a known disadvantaged urban community – health policy implications Australia and New Zealand Health Policy, 3 (1) DOI: 10.1186/1743-8462-3-2

S Subramanian (2003). Neighborhood differences in social capital: a compositional artifact or a contextual construct? Health & Place, 9 (1), 33-44 DOI: 10.1016/S1353-8292(02)00028-X

Ching-Hsing Hsieh (2008). A Concept Analysis of Social Capital Within a Health Context Nursing Forum, 43 (3), 151-159 DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-6198.2008.00107.x

Melissa E. Malka

Ms. Malka holds a BSc in Molecular Biology with a focus on neuropsychology, specifically the biology behind psychology. She is also pursuing a Masters degree and planning to attend medical school.

Related Articles

  • The Lonely Hearts Club
  • How You Can Get Better Medical Care – Part II
  • Social Network Addiction – A Scientific No Man’s Land?
  • The Biopsychosocial Model of Health & Illness
  • The Doctor Is… Online
  • Social Media and Mental Health
  • Adventures in the Study of Altruism

2 Responses

    1. Carnival of Trust | Articles About Everything says:
      December 30, 2008 at 5:21 pm

      [...] are some other great posts there too.  I was particularly pleased to see this comment on BrainBlogger: "As individuals, we strive to improve our human capital, or our economic value. We earn [...]

      Reply
    2. » Carnival of Trust says:
      March 13, 2009 at 3:43 am

      [...] are some other great posts there too.  I was particularly pleased to see this comment on BrainBlogger: "As individuals, we strive to improve our human capital, or our economic value. We earn [...]

      Reply

    Leave a Reply

    Click here to cancel reply.

    Subscribe without commenting


    Popular Posts

    • The Love Drug
    • Women After Sex
    • Fatty Acids and Suicide Risk
    • Mind Games - Science's Attempts at Thought Control
    • Risks of Personalized Medicine
    • Mental Health Disorders Prevalent Among Youth Worldwide
    • Is Giftedness Nothing More than Good Genes?
    • Behind the Masks - The Mysteries of Dissociative Identity Disorder
    • The NeuroSocial Network
    • Inside Your Brain on Holiday

    Future Posts

    • The Brain’s Buying Power
    • Aging Intelligently

    Latest Posts

    • A Nicotine Patch a Day Keeps the Cognitive Impairment Away
    • The Many Emerging Roles of Astrocytes
    • Diabetes Impairs Cognition
    • Media Violence Leads to Real Violence
    • Intelligence – Are You Holding Back Your Brain?
    • Childhood Aggression Predicts Health Care Use Later in Life
    • The Brain’s Border Patrol – Blood Brain Barrier
    • Risks of Personalized Medicine
    • BED-head and Obesity – Food for Thought
    • Salvia Divinorum – DEA Control over Magic in the Mint

    Comments

    • Scapadas Amorosas: Lets patent it, package, marke
    • sumeshmavungal: Advice on buying a car?
    • Emily Haines, MSc, PhD student: Thanks for your comments, Matt
    • Emily Haines, MSc, PhD student: Thanks for your comments and s
    • Alex: While we have our eyes glued t
    • Richard Kensinger, MSW: Carla,You are absolutely c
    • Soraya L. Valles: I'm interested in astrocytes.
    • Raymond Tallis: Dear Kitty, I have come to you
    • Steven: After smoking for 17 years dai
    • Matt: I'm just interested in hearing
    • Carla Easley: If everyone adopted the "Growt
    • Isabel (retired RN): I second that query for resear
    Sponsored Links

    chinese wholesale, memory improvement, web design brisbane, Autism News Blog, Pharmaceutical Training, Neurotherapist, HGH, Rollup Banner Stands , Buy Potaba Online , AtomicPR , hospital drug treatment , Blood Lab California

    Copyright © 2005-2012 Brain Blogger sponsored by Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation (GNIF). All Rights Reserved.
    Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Feed | Log in | ISSN 1931-6224 | 1.049s
    9rules Network Member