Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
International Journal for Equity in Health
Published in: International Journal for Equity in Health 1/2013

Open Access 01-12-2013 | Research

A systematic review of the relationships between social capital and socioeconomic inequalities in health: a contribution to understanding the psychosocial pathway of health inequalities

Authors: Eleonora P Uphoff, Kate E Pickett, Baltica Cabieses, Neil Small, John Wright

Published in: International Journal for Equity in Health | Issue 1/2013

Login to get access

Abstract

Introduction

Recent research on health inequalities moves beyond illustrating the importance of psychosocial factors for health to a more in-depth study of the specific psychosocial pathways involved. Social capital is a concept that captures both a buffer function of the social environment on health, as well as potential negative effects arising from social inequality and exclusion. This systematic review assesses the current evidence, and identifies gaps in knowledge, on the associations and interactions between social capital and socioeconomic inequalities in health.

Methods

Through this systematic review we identified studies on the interactions between social capital and socioeconomic inequalities in health published before July 2012.

Results

The literature search resulted in 618 studies after removal of duplicates, of which 60 studies were eligible for analysis. Self-reported measures of health were most frequently used, together with different bonding, bridging and linking components of social capital. A large majority, 56 studies, confirmed a correlation between social capital and socioeconomic inequalities in health. Twelve studies reported that social capital might buffer negative health effects of low socioeconomic status and five studies concluded that social capital has a stronger positive effect on health for people with a lower socioeconomic status.

Conclusions

There is evidence for both a buffer effect and a dependency effect of social capital on socioeconomic inequalities in health, although the studies that assess these interactions are limited in number. More evidence is needed, as identified hypotheses have implications for community action and for action on the structural causes of social inequalities.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Halpern D: Social capital. 2005, Cambridge: Polity Press
2.
Wilkinson RG, Pickett KE: Income inequality and population health: A review and explanation of the evidence. Soc Sci Med. 2006, 62: 1768-1784. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.08.036.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Kawachi I, Kennedy BP, Lochner K, Prothrow-Stith D: Social capital, income inequality, and mortality. Am J Public Health. 1997, 87: 1491-1498. 10.2105/AJPH.87.9.1491.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
4.
Adams J, White M: Evidence concerning social capital and health inequalities is still lacking. J Public Health Med. 2003, 25: 184-185.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Stephens C: Social capital in its place: using social theory to understand social capital and inequalities in health. Soc Sci Med. 2008, 66: 1174-1184. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.11.026.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Bourdieu P: The forms of capital. Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. Edited by: Richardson R. 1986, New York: Greenwood Press
7.
Coleman J: Foundations of social theory. 1990, Cambridge: Harvard University Press
8.
Fukuyama F: Trust: the social virtues and the creation of prosperity. 1995, London: Hamish Hamilton
9.
Putnam RD: Bowling alone : the collapse and revival of American community. 2000, New York: Simon & SchusterCrossRef
10.
Putnam RD: Who killed civic America?. Prospect. 1996, 7: 66-72.
11.
Islam M, Merlo J, Kawachi I, Lindström M, Gerdtham U-G: Social capital and health: Does egalitarianism matter? A literature review. Int J Equity Health. 2006, 5: 1-28. 10.1186/1475-9276-5-1.CrossRef
12.
Harpham T, Grant E, Thomas E: Measuring social capital within health surveys: key issues. Health Policy Plan. 2002, 17: 106-111. 10.1093/heapol/17.1.106.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Granovetter MS: The strength of weak ties. Am J Sociol. 1973, 78: 1360-1380. 10.1086/225469.CrossRef
14.
Szreter S, Woolcock M: Health by association? Social capital, social theory, and the political economy of public health. Int J Epidemiol. 2004, 33: 650-667. 10.1093/ije/dyh013.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Marmot MG, Smith GD, Stansfeld S, Patel C, North F, Head J, White I, Brunner E, Feeney A: Health inequalities among British civil servants: the Whitehall II study. Lancet. 1991, 337: 1387-1393. 10.1016/0140-6736(91)93068-K.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Social determinants of health. The solid facts. Edited by: Wilkinson R, Marmot M. 2003, Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2
17.
Wilkinson RG, Pickett K: The spirit level : why more equal societies almost always do better. 2009, London: Allen Lane
18.
Lochner K, Kawachi I, Kennedy BP: Social capital: a guide to its measurement. Health Place. 1999, 5: 259-270. 10.1016/S1353-8292(99)00016-7.CrossRefPubMed
19.
Kawachi I: Social capital and health. Handbook of medical sociology. Edited by: Bird C, Conrad P, Fremont A, Timmermans S. 2010, Nashville, US: Vanderbilt University Press, 6
20.
Wilkinson RG, Pickett K: The spirit level : why equality is better for everyone. New [ed.]. edn. 2010, London: Penguin
21.
Pickett KE, Wilkinson RG: People like us: ethnic group density effects on health. Ethn Health. 2008, 13: 321-334. 10.1080/13557850701882928.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Small N, Gardiner C, Barnes S, Gott M, Halpin D, Payne S, Seamark D: “You get old, you get breathless, and you die”: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Barnsley, UK. Health Place. 2012, 18: 1396-1403. 10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.07.004.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Arneil B: Diverse communities : the problem with social capital. 2006, Cambridge: Cambridge University PressCrossRef
24.
Carlson ED, Chamberlain RM: Social capital, health, and health disparities. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2003, 35: 325-331. 10.1111/j.1547-5069.2003.00325.x.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Pilkington P: Social capital and health: measuring and understanding social capital at a local level could help to tackle health inequalities more effectively. J Public Health Med. 2002, 24: 156-159. 10.1093/pubmed/24.3.156.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, Grp P: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. J Clin Epidemiol. 2009, 62: 1006-1012. 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2009.06.005.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Van Duyn MA, McCrae T, Wingrove BK, Henderson KM, Boyd JK, Kagawa-Singer M, Ramirez AG, Scarinci-Searles I, Wolff LS, Penalosa TL, Maibach EW: Adapting evidence-based strategies to increase physical activity among African Americans, Hispanics, Hmong, and Native Hawaiians: a social marketing approach. Prev Chronic Dis. 2007, 4: A102-PubMedCentralPubMed
28.
Emerson E, Hatton C: Poverty, socio-economic position, social capital and the health of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities in Britain: a replication. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2007, 51: 866-874. 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2007.00951.x.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Turrell G, Kavanagh A, Subramanian SV: Area variation in mortality in Tasmania (Australia): The contributions of socioeconomic disadvantage, social capital and geographic remoteness. Health Place. 2006, 12: 291-305. 10.1016/j.healthplace.2004.08.012.CrossRefPubMed
30.
Mohan J, Twigg L, Barnard S, Jones K: Social capital, geography and health: A small-area analysis for England. Soc Sci Med. 2005, 60 (66): 1267-1283.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Veenstra G: Location, location, location: contextual and compositional health effects of social capital in British Columbia, Canada. Soc Sci Med. 2005, 60: 2059-2071. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.08.064.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Hyyppa MT, Maki J: Individual-level relationships between social capital and self-rated health in a bilingual community. Prev Med. 2001, 32: 148-155. 10.1006/pmed.2000.0782.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Pearson JA, Geronimus AT: Race/ethnicity, socioeconomic characteristics, coethnic social ties, and health: evidence from the national Jewish population survey. Am J Public Health. 2011, 101: 1314-1321. 10.2105/AJPH.2009.190462. United StatesPubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
34.
Sun X, Rehnberg C, Meng Q: How are individual-level social capital and poverty associated with health equity? A study from two Chinese cities. Int J Equity Health. 2009, 8: 2-10.1186/1475-9276-8-2.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
35.
Van Der Wel KA: Social capital and health - A multilevel analysis of 25 administrative districts in Oslo. Norsk Epidemiologi. 2007, 17 (11): 71-78.
36.
Stafford M, Gimeno D, Marmot MG: Neighbourhood characteristics and trajectories of health functioning: a multilevel prospective analysis. Eur J Public Health. 2008, 18: 604-610. 10.1093/eurpub/ckn091.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
37.
Bohn V, Richter M: Type of School, Social Capital and Subjective Health in Adolescence. Gesundheitswesen. 2011, 10.1055/s-0031-1285860.
38.
Dahl E, Malmberg-Heimonen I: Social inequality and health: the role of social capital. Sociol Health Illn. 2010, 32: 1102-1119. 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2010.01270.x.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Engstrom K, Mattsson F, Jarleborg A, Hallqvist J: Contextual social capital as a risk factor for poor self-rated health: a multilevel analysis. Soc Sci Med. 2008, 66: 2268-2280. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.01.019.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Baron-Epel O, Weinstein R, Haviv-Mesika A, Garty-Sandalon N, Green MS: Individual-level analysis of social capital and health: a comparison of Arab and Jewish Israelis. Soc Sci Med. 2008, 66: 900-910. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.10.025.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Gorman BK, Sivaganesan A: The role of social support and integration for understanding socioeconomic disparities in self-rated health and hypertension. Soc Sci Med. 2007, 65 (65): 958-975.CrossRefPubMed
42.
Beaudoin CE: Social capital and health status: assessing whether the relationship varies between Blacks and Whites. Psychol Health. 2009, 24: 109-118. 10.1080/08870440701700997.CrossRefPubMed
43.
Abdou CM, Dunkel Schetter C, Campos B, Hilmert CJ, Dominguez TP, Hobel CJ, Glynn LM, Sandman C: Communalism predicts prenatal affect, stress, and physiology better than ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2010, 16: 395-403. United StatesPubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
44.
Abel T, Fuhr DC, Bisegger C, Ackermann Rau S: Money is not enough: exploring the impact of social and cultural resources on youth health. Scand J Public Health. 2011, 39: 57-61. 10.1177/1403494810378924.CrossRefPubMed
45.
Bjornstrom EE: The neighborhood context of relative position, trust, and self-rated health. Soc Sci Med. 2011, 73: 42-49. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.05.014.CrossRefPubMed
46.
Gallo LC, Smith TW, Cox CM: Socioeconomic status, psychosocial processes, and perceived health: an interpersonal perspective. Ann Behav Med. 2006, 31: 109-119. 10.1207/s15324796abm3102_2.CrossRefPubMed
47.
Subramanian SV, Kim DJ, Kawachi I: Social trust and self-rated health in US communities: a multilevel analysis. J Urban Health. 2002, 79: S21-S34. 10.1093/jurban/79.suppl_1.S21.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
48.
Aldabe B, Anderson R, Lyly-Yrjanainen M, Parent-Thirion A, Vermeylen G, Kelleher CC, Niedhammer I: Contribution of material, occupational, and psychosocial factors in the explanation of social inequalities in health in 28 countries in Europe. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2011, 65: 1123-1131. 10.1136/jech.2009.102517. EnglandPubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
49.
Chavez R, Kemp L, Harris E: The social capital:health relationship in two disadvantaged neighbourhoods. J Health Serv Res Policy. 2004, 9 (Suppl 2): 29-34. 10.1258/1355819042349871.CrossRefPubMed
50.
Klein J, Vonneilich N, Baumeister SE, Kohlmann T, von dem Knesebeck O: Do social relations explain health inequalities? Evidence from a longitudinal survey in a changing eastern German region. Int J Public Health. 2012, 57: 619-627. 10.1007/s00038-012-0356-y.CrossRefPubMed
51.
German D, Latkin CA: Social stability and health: exploring multidimensional social disadvantage. J Urban Health. 2012, 89: 19-35. 10.1007/s11524-011-9625-y.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
52.
Daoud N, Soskolne V, Manor O: Examining cultural, psychosocial, community and behavioural factors in relationship to socioeconomic inequalities in limiting longstanding illness among the Arab minority in Israel. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2009, 63: 351-358. 10.1136/jech.2008.080465.CrossRefPubMed
53.
Henderson HJ, Memon A, Lawson K, Jacobs B, Koutsogeorgou E: What factors are important in smoking cessation amongst deprived communities?: A qualitative study. Health Educ J. 2011, 70: 84-91. 10.1177/0017896910373170.CrossRef
54.
Jusot F, Grignon M, Dourgnon P: Access to psycho-social resources and health: exploratory findings from a survey of the French population. Health Econ Policy Law. 2008, 3: 365-391.CrossRefPubMed
55.
Power C, Matthews S: Origins of health inequalities in a national population sample. Lancet. 1997, 350: 1584-1589. 10.1016/S0140-6736(97)07474-6.CrossRefPubMed
56.
Dean WR, Sharkey JR: Food insecurity, social capital and perceived personal disparity in a predominantly rural region of Texas: an individual-level analysis. Soc Sci Med. 2011, 72: 1454-1462. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.015.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
57.
Soskolne V, Manor O: Health inequalities in Israel: explanatory factors of socio-economic inequalities in self-rated health and limiting longstanding illness. Health Place. 2010, 16: 242-251. 10.1016/j.healthplace.2009.10.005.CrossRefPubMed
58.
Aida J, Kondo K, Kondo N, Watt RG, Sheiham A, Tsakos G: Income inequality, social capital and self-rated health and dental status in older Japanese. Soc Sci Med. 2011, 73: 1561-1568. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.09.005.CrossRefPubMed
59.
Mao L, Kidd MR, Rogers G, Andrews G, Newman CE, Booth A, Saltman DC, Kippax SC: Social factors associated with Major Depressive Disorder in homosexually active, gay men attending general practices in urban Australia. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2009, 33: 83-86. 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2009.00344.x.CrossRefPubMed
60.
Altschuler A, Somkin CP, Adler NE: Local services and amenities, neighborhood social capital, and health. Soc Sci Med. 2004, 59: 1219-1229. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.01.008. England, Elseiver Ltd.; 2004CrossRefPubMed
61.
Cohen DA, Farley TA, Mason K: Why is poverty unhealthy? Social and physical mediators. Soc Sci Med. 2003, 57: 1631-1641. 10.1016/S0277-9536(03)00015-7.CrossRefPubMed
62.
Gee GC, Chen J, Spencer MS, See S, Kuester OA, Tran D, Takeuchi D: Social support as a buffer for perceived unfair treatment among Filipino Americans: differences between San Francisco and Honolulu. Am J Public Health. 2006, 96: 677-684. 10.2105/AJPH.2004.060442. United StatesPubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
63.
Gorman BK, Sivaganesan A: The role of social support and integration for understanding socioeconomic disparities in self-rated health and hypertension. Soc Sci Med. 2007, 65: 958-975. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.04.017. EnglandCrossRefPubMed
64.
Jesse DE, Graham M, Swanson M: Psychosocial and spiritual factors associated with smoking and substance use during pregnancy in African American and White low-income women. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2006, 35: 68-77. 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2006.00010.x. United StatesCrossRefPubMed
65.
Becares L, Nazroo J, Jackson J, Heuvelman H: Ethnic density effects on health and experienced racism among Caribbean people in the US and England: a cross-national comparison. Soc Sci Med. 2012, 75: 2107-2115. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.03.046.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
66.
Shaw RJ, Atkin K, Becares L, Albor CB, Stafford M, Kiernan KE, Nazroo JY, Wilkinson RG, Pickett KE: Impact of ethnic density on adult mental disorders: narrative review. Br J Psychiatry. 2012, 201: 11-19. 10.1192/bjp.bp.110.083675.CrossRefPubMed
67.
Field J: Social capital. 2003, London: Routledge
68.
Albor C, Pickett K, Wilkinson RG, Ballas D: Are poor mothers and their infants healthier in richer areas? The protective effect of area socio-economic density. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2009, 63: 91-10.1136/jech.2009.096735m.CrossRef
69.
Cene CW, Akers AY, Lloyd SW, Albritton T, Powell Hammond W, Corbie-Smith G: Understanding social capital and HIV risk in rural African American communities. J Gen Intern Med. 2011, 26: 737-744. 10.1007/s11606-011-1646-4.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
70.
Carpiano RM: Neighborhood social capital and adult health: An empirical test of a Bourdieu-based model. Health Place. 2007, 13: 639-655. 10.1016/j.healthplace.2006.09.001.CrossRefPubMed
71.
Johnson CM, Sharkey JR, Dean WR: Eating Behaviors and Social Capital are Associated with Fruit and Vegetable Intake Among Rural Adults. J Hunger Environ Nutr. 2010, 5: 302-315. 10.1080/19320248.2010.504094.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
72.
Waterston T, Alperstein G, Brown SS: Social capital: a key factor in child health inequalities. Arch Dis Child. 2004, 89: 456-459. 10.1136/adc.2002.024422.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
73.
Walseth K: Bridging and bonding social capital in sport—experiences of young women with an immigrant background. Sport, Education and Society. 2007, 13: 1-17.CrossRef
74.
75.
Coburn D: Income inequality, social cohesion and the health status of populations: The role of neo-liberalism. Soc Sci Med. 2000, 51 (51): 135-146.CrossRefPubMed
76.
Putnam RD, Leonardi R, Nanetti RY: Making democracy work : civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton, N.J. 1993, Chichester: Princeton University Press
77.
Abel T, Frohlich KL: Capitals and capabilities: linking structure and agency to reduce health inequalities. Soc Sci Med. 2012, 74: 236-244. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.10.028.CrossRefPubMed
78.
Wilkinson RG: Socioeconomic determinants of health: Health inequalities: relative or absolute material standards?. BMJ. 1997, 314: 591-10.1136/bmj.314.7080.591.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
79.
Uslaner EM: Producing and Consuming Trust. Polit Sci Quart. 2000, 115: 569-590. 10.2307/2657610.CrossRef
80.
Newton K: Social capital and democracy. Am Behav Sci. 1997, 40: 575-586. 10.1177/0002764297040005004.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
A systematic review of the relationships between social capital and socioeconomic inequalities in health: a contribution to understanding the psychosocial pathway of health inequalities
Authors
Eleonora P Uphoff
Kate E Pickett
Baltica Cabieses
Neil Small
John Wright
Publication date
01-12-2013
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
International Journal for Equity in Health / Issue 1/2013
Electronic ISSN: 1475-9276
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-12-54

Other articles of this Issue 1/2013

International Journal for Equity in Health 1/2013 Go to the issue

Research

Residential movement patterns of families of young children with chronic conditions in Ontario, Canada: a population-based cohort study

Research

China’s new cooperative medical scheme and equity in access to health care: evidence from a longitudinal household survey

Research

Benefits and constraints of intimate partnerships for HIV positive sex workers in Kibera, Kenya

Research

Changes in health expenditures in China in 2000s: has the health system reform improved affordability

Research

Race/Ethnicity, insurance, income and access to care: the influence of health status

Research

Sociodemographic data collection for health equity measurement: a mixed methods study examining public opinions