IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0071085.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Association of Neighbourhood and Individual Social Capital, Neighbourhood Economic Deprivation and Self-Rated Health in South Africa – a Multi-Level Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Lumbwe Chola
  • Olufunke Alaba

Abstract

Introduction: Social capital is said to influence health, mostly in research undertaken in high income countries' settings. Because social capital may differ from one setting to another, it is suggested that its measurement be context specific. We examine the association of individual and neighbourhood level social capital, and neighbourhood deprivation to self-rated health using a multi-level analysis. Methods: Data are taken from the 2008 South Africa National Income Dynamic Survey. Health was self-reported on a scale from 1 (excellent) to 5 (poor). Two measures of social capital were used: individual, measured by two variables denoting trust and civic participation; and neighbourhood social capital, denoting support, association, behaviour and safety in a community. Results: Compared to males, females were less likely to report good health (Odds Ratio 0.82: Confidence Interval 0.73, 0.91). There were variations in association of individual social capital and self-rated health among the provinces. In Western Cape (1.37: 0.98, 1.91) and North West (1.39: 1.13, 1.71), trust was positively associated with reporting good health, while the reverse was true in Limpopo (0.56: 0.38, 0.84) and Free State (0.70: 0.48, 1.02). In Western Cape (0.60: 0.44, 0.82) and Mpumalanga (0.72: 0.55, 0.94), neighbourhood social capital was negatively associated with reporting good health. In North West (1.59: 1.27, 1.99) and Gauteng (1.90: 1.21, 2.97), increased neighbourhood social capital was positively associated with reporting good health. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated the importance of considering contextual factors when analysing the relationship between social capital and health. Analysis by province showed variations in the way in which social capital affected health in different contexts. Further studies should be undertaken to understand the mechanisms through which social capital impacts on health in South Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Lumbwe Chola & Olufunke Alaba, 2013. "Association of Neighbourhood and Individual Social Capital, Neighbourhood Economic Deprivation and Self-Rated Health in South Africa – a Multi-Level Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(7), pages 1-9, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0071085
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071085
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071085
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071085&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0071085?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kawachi, I. & Kennedy, B.P. & Glass, R., 1999. "Social capital and self-rated health: A contextual analysis," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(8), pages 1187-1193.
    2. Gindo Tampubolon & S. V. Subramanian & Ichiro Kawachi, 2013. "Neighbourhood Social Capital And Individual Self‐Rated Health In Wales," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(1), pages 14-21, January.
    3. Pronyk, Paul M. & Harpham, Trudy & Busza, Joanna & Phetla, Godfrey & Morison, Linda A. & Hargreaves, James R. & Kim, Julia C. & Watts, Charlotte H. & Porter, John D., 2008. "Can social capital be intentionally generated? A randomized trial from rural South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(10), pages 1559-1570, November.
    4. Michael Noble & Helen Barnes & Gemma Wright & Benjamin Roberts, 2010. "Small Area Indices of Multiple Deprivation in South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 281-297, January.
    5. De Silva, Mary J. & Huttly, Sharon R. & Harpham, Trudy & Kenward, Michael G., 2007. "Social capital and mental health: A comparative analysis of four low income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 5-20, January.
    6. Lindström, Martin, 2009. "Marital status, social capital, material conditions and self-rated health: A population-based study," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(2-3), pages 172-179, December.
    7. Poortinga, Wouter, 2006. "Social relations or social capital? Individual and community health effects of bonding social capital," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 255-270, July.
    8. N. Künzli & R. Kaiser & S. Medina & M. Studnicka & O. Chanel & P. Filliger & M. Herry & F. Horak & V. Puybonnieux-Texier & Philippe Quénel & Jodi Schneider & R. Seethaler & Jean-Christophe Vergnaud & , 2000. "Public health Impact of Outdoor and Traffic related Air Pollution," Post-Print halshs-00150955, HAL.
    9. Tsuyoshi Hamano & Yoshikazu Fujisawa & Yu Ishida & S V Subramanian & Ichiro Kawachi & Kuninori Shiwaku, 2010. "Social Capital and Mental Health in Japan: A Multilevel Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(10), pages 1-6, October.
    10. Snelgrove, John W. & Pikhart, Hynek & Stafford, Mai, 2009. "A multilevel analysis of social capital and self-rated health: Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 1993-2001, June.
    11. Eibner, Christine & Sturm, Roland, 2006. "US-based indices of area-level deprivation: Results from HealthCare for Communities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 348-359, January.
    12. Ellaway, A. & Macintyre, S., 2000. "Social capital and self-rated health: Support for a contextual mechanism [2]," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 90(6), pages 988-988.
    13. P. Filliger & M. Herry & F. Horak & V. Puybonnieux-Texier & P. Quenel & J. Schneider & R.K. Seethaler & J.C. Vernaud & H. Sommer & N. Künzli & R. Kaiser & S. Medina & M. Studnicka & Olivier Chanel, 2000. "Public-health impact of outdoor and traffic-related air pollution: a European assessment," Post-Print hal-01462907, HAL.
    14. Yamaoka, Kazue, 2008. "Social capital and health and well-being in East Asia: A population-based study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 885-899, February.
    15. Havard, Sabrina & Deguen, Séverine & Bodin, Julie & Louis, Karine & Laurent, Olivier & Bard, Denis, 2008. "A small-area index of socioeconomic deprivation to capture health inequalities in France," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(12), pages 2007-2016, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Priscilla Duboz & Gilles Boëtsch & Lamine Gueye & Enguerran Macia, 2017. "Self-rated health in Senegal: A comparison between urban and rural areas," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(9), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Moeko Noguchi-Shinohara & Kohei Hirako & Hiromasa Tsujiguchi & Tomoya Itatani & Kiyoko Yanagihara & Hikaru Samuta & Hiroyuki Nakamura, 2020. "Residents living in communities with higher civic participation report higher self-rated health," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-9, October.
    3. Adjaye-Gbewonyo, Kafui & Kawachi, Ichiro & Subramanian, S.V. & Avendano, Mauricio, 2018. "High social trust associated with increased depressive symptoms in a longitudinal South African sample," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 127-135.
    4. Bennett, Rachel & Waterhouse, Philippa, 2018. "Work and family transitions and the self-rated health of young women in South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 9-18.
    5. Rodgers, Justin & Valuev, Anna V. & Hswen, Yulin & Subramanian, S.V., 2019. "Social capital and physical health: An updated review of the literature for 2007–2018," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Harris Hyun-soo Kim, 2018. "Investigating the Associations between Ethnic Networks, Community Social Capital, and Physical Health among Marriage Migrants in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, January.
    7. Tholang Mokhele & Chipo Mutyambizi & Thabang Manyaapelo & Amukelani Ngobeni & Catherine Ndinda & Charles Hongoro, 2023. "Determinants of Deteriorated Self-Perceived Health Status among Informal Settlement Dwellers in South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-18, February.
    8. Musalia, John, 2016. "Social capital and health in Kenya: A multilevel analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 11-19.
    9. Saju Madavanakadu Devassy & Lorane Scaria & Shilpa V. Yohannan & Sunirose Ishnassery Pathrose, 2023. "Protective Role of Social Networks for the Well-Being of Persons with Disabilities: Results from a State-Wide Cross-Sectional Survey in Kerala, India," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-11, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xiaoming Lin & Ruodan Lu & Liang Guo & Bing Liu, 2019. "Social Capital and Mental Health in Rural and Urban China: A Composite Hypothesis Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-16, February.
    2. Sehee Han & Heaseung Kim & Hee-Sun Lee, 2013. "A Multilevel Analysis of the Compositional and Contextual Association of Social Capital and Subjective Well-Being in Seoul, South Korea," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(1), pages 185-202, March.
    3. Snelgrove, John W. & Pikhart, Hynek & Stafford, Mai, 2009. "A multilevel analysis of social capital and self-rated health: Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 1993-2001, June.
    4. Liu, Gordon G. & Xue, Xindong & Yu, Chenxi & Wang, Yafeng, 2016. "How does social capital matter to the health status of older adults? Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 177-189.
    5. Fiorillo, Damiano & Sabatini, Fabio, 2015. "Structural social capital and health in Italy," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 129-142.
    6. Sabatini, Fabio, 2014. "The relationship between happiness and health: Evidence from Italy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 178-187.
    7. Engström, Karin & Mattsson, Fredrik & Järleborg, Anders & Hallqvist, Johan, 2008. "Contextual social capital as a risk factor for poor self-rated health: A multilevel analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(11), pages 2268-2280, June.
    8. Han, Sehee, 2013. "Compositional and contextual associations of social capital and self-rated health in Seoul, South Korea: A multilevel analysis of longitudinal evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 113-120.
    9. Damiano Fiorillo & Nunzia Nappo, 2017. "Formal volunteering and self-perceived health. Causal evidence from the UK-SILC," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 75(2), pages 112-138, April.
    10. Verhaeghe, Pieter-Paul & Tampubolon, Gindo, 2012. "Individual social capital, neighbourhood deprivation, and self-rated health in England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 349-357.
    11. Sehee Han & Heaseung Kim & Eung-Sun Lee & Hee-Sun Lee, 2013. "The Contextual and Compositional Associations of Social Capital and Subjective Happiness: A Multilevel Analysis from Seoul, South Korea," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 1183-1200, August.
    12. Fiorillo Damiano & Sabatini Fabio, 2011. "Quality and quantity: The role of social interactions in individual health," wp.comunite 0073, Department of Communication, University of Teramo.
    13. Eriksson, Malin & Ng, Nawi & Weinehall, Lars & Emmelin, Maria, 2011. "The importance of gender and conceptualization for understanding the association between collective social capital and health: A multilevel analysis from northern Sweden," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 264-273, July.
    14. Fiorillo, Damiano & Sabatini, Fabio, 2011. "Quality and quantity: The role of social interactions in self-reported individual health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(11), pages 1644-1652.
    15. Verduin, Femke & Smid, Geert E. & Wind, Tim R. & Scholte, Willem F., 2014. "In search of links between social capital, mental health and sociotherapy: A longitudinal study in Rwanda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 1-9.
    16. Habibov, Nazim N. & Afandi, Elvin N., 2011. "Self-rated health and social capital in transitional countries: Multilevel analysis of comparative surveys in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(7), pages 1193-1204, April.
    17. Nan Lu & Jingyue Zhang, 2019. "Social Capital and Self-Rated Health among Older Adults Living in Urban China: A Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-10, October.
    18. Wang, Hongmei & Schlesinger, Mark & Wang, Hong & Hsiao, William C., 2009. "The flip-side of social capital: The distinctive influences of trust and mistrust on health in rural China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 133-142, January.
    19. Giordano, Giuseppe Nicola & Björk, Jonas & Lindström, Martin, 2012. "Social capital and self-rated health – A study of temporal (causal) relationships," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 340-348.
    20. Leena K. Koivusilta, 2018. "Country-Level Investment in Cultural Opportunity Structures. A Potential Source of Health Differences Between 21 European Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 1091-1118, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0071085. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.