IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jhappi/v18y2017i3d10.1007_s10902-016-9752-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Which is More Relevant for Perceived Happiness, Individual-Level or Area-Level Social Capital? A Multilevel Mediation Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Takashi Oshio

    (Hitotsubashi University)

Abstract

A growing number of studies have addressed how social capital is closely related to an individual’s perceived happiness. However, most happiness studies have focused on individual-level social capital, which is based on an individual’s subjective assessment of social capital gathered from social surveys. Considering that social capital was originally a collective concept, this study distinguished individual- and area-level aspects of social capital and their relationships in terms of their associations with perceived happiness. To this end, we employed multilevel mediation analysis using cross-sectional microdata from a nationwide Internet survey conducted in Japan (N = 9523). We focused on four types of social capital: trust in neighbors, contacts with neighbors, bonding, and bridging. Based on the estimation results, we first confirmed that social capital at both the individual and area levels had a positive association with perceived happiness when using them separately as an independent variable. Second, we found that a substantial portion of the effect of area-level social capital on perceived happiness was mediated by individual-level social capital. This suggests that an individual’s commitment to area-level social capital is required if a large portion of its potential benefits on perceived happiness are to materialize. Furthermore, we observed that the effects of area-level bonding and bridging on their individual-level measures were affected by several individual-level attributes, including personality traits. Overall, the results underscore the need for further investigation into the association between perceived happiness and social capital at different levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Takashi Oshio, 2017. "Which is More Relevant for Perceived Happiness, Individual-Level or Area-Level Social Capital? A Multilevel Mediation Analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 765-783, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:18:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10902-016-9752-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-016-9752-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-016-9752-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10902-016-9752-y?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Viola Berlepsch, 2014. "Social Capital and Individual Happiness in Europe," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 357-386, April.
    2. Ambrose Leung & Cheryl Kier & Tak Fung & Linda Fung & Robert Sproule, 2011. "Searching for Happiness: The Importance of Social Capital," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 443-462, June.
    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. John F. Helliwell & Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh, 2010. "How Much is Social Capital Worth?," NBER Working Papers 16025, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Murayama, Hiroshi & Nofuji, Yu & Matsuo, Eri & Nishi, Mariko & Taniguchi, Yu & Fujiwara, Yoshinori & Shinkai, Shoji, 2015. "Are neighborhood bonding and bridging social capital protective against depressive mood in old age? A multilevel analysis in Japan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 171-179.
    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. Miha Dominko & Miroslav Verbič, 2020. "Subjective Quality of Life and Stock Market Participation of the Elderly: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 505-519, September.
    2. Jiawen Huang & Yitong Fang, 2021. "Income Inequality, Neighbourhood Social Capital and Subjective Well-Being in China: Exploration of a Moderating Effect," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Haiyang Lu & Peishan Tong & Rong Zhu, 2020. "Longitudinal Evidence on Social Trust and Happiness in China: Causal Effects and Mechanisms," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(5), pages 1841-1858, June.
    4. Paul Fenton Villar, 2022. "Is there a Mineral-Induced ‘Economic Euphoria’?: Evidence from Latin America," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1403-1430, April.
    5. Zihan Yang & Xu Cai & Yujia Jiang & Guobiao Li & Guojing Zhao & Peng Wang & Zhaoxin Huang, 2022. "What Are the Recipes of an Entrepreneur’s Subjective Well-Being? A Fuzzy-Set Approach for China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Mingzhi Hu & Yuming Yang & Yinxin Su & Xiaofen Yu, 2024. "Broadband Infrastructure and Happiness of Rural Households in China," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 25(6), pages 1-25, August.

    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. Elyakim Kislev, 2020. "Social Capital, Happiness, and the Unmarried: a Multilevel Analysis of 32 European Countries," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 15(5), pages 1475-1492, November.
    2. Anna Almakaeva & Eduard Ponarin & Christian Welzel, 2014. "Human Development And Generalized Trust: Multilevel Evidence," HSE Working papers WP BRP 58/SOC/2014, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    3. Lucía Gómez-Balcácer & Noelia Somarriba Arechavala & Patricia Gómez-Costilla, 2023. "The Importance of Different Forms of Social Capital for Happiness in Europe: A Multilevel Structural Equation Model (GSEM)," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 601-624, February.
    4. De Luca, Giacomo Davide & Lin, Xi, 2024. "The role of health and health systems in promoting social capital, political participation and peace: A narrative review," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    5. Carola Hommerich & Tim Tiefenbach, 2018. "Analyzing the Relationship Between Social Capital and Subjective Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Social Affiliation," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1091-1114, April.
    6. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Viola Berlepsch, 2014. "Social Capital and Individual Happiness in Europe," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 357-386, April.
    7. 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.
    8. Efstratia Arampatzi & Martijn J. Burger & Natallia Novik, 2018. "Social Network Sites, Individual Social Capital and Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 99-122, January.
    9. Anna Almakaeva & Christian Welzel & Eduard Ponarin, 2018. "Human Empowerment and Trust in Strangers: The Multilevel Evidence," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 923-962, October.
    10. 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.
    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. Degli Antoni, Giacomo & Vittucci Marzetti, Giuseppe, 2022. "Estimating the effect on happiness through question randomization: An application to blood donation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    13. Iddisah Sulemana, 2015. "An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Social Capital and Subjective Well-Being in Ghana," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 1299-1321, October.
    14. Christoph Glatz & Anja Eder, 2020. "Patterns of Trust and Subjective Well-Being Across Europe: New Insights from Repeated Cross-Sectional Analyses Based on the European Social Survey 2002–2016," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 417-439, April.
    15. Wenlong Li & Suocheng Dong & Haiying Lin & Yu Li & Zehong Li & Zhuang Jin & Bing Xia, 2022. "Influence of Rural Social Capital and Production Mode on the Subjective Well-Being of Farmers and Herdsmen: Empirical Discovery on Farmers and Herdsmen in Inner Mongolia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-23, January.
    16. Giacomo Degli Antoni & Chiara Franco, 2022. "The effect of technological behaviour and beliefs on subjective well-being: the role of technological infrastructure," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 553-590, April.
    17. Minxiang Zhao & Yixuan Li & Junqi Lin & Yuan Fang & Yuchuan Yang & Boyang Li & Yan Dong, 2024. "The Relationship Between Trust and Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 1-26, June.
    18. Katarzyna Growiec & Jakub Growiec & Bogumil Kaminski, 2017. "Social Network Structure and The Trade-Off Between Social Utility and Economic Performance," KAE Working Papers 2017-026, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of Economic Analysis.
    19. Giuseppina Guagnano & Elisabetta Santarelli & Isabella Santini, 2016. "Can Social Capital Affect Subjective Poverty in Europe? An Empirical Analysis Based on a Generalized Ordered Logit Model," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(2), pages 881-907, September.
    20. Dorota Ciołek & Anna Golejewska & Adriana Zabłocka‐Abi Yaghi, 2022. "Innovation drivers in regions. Does urbanization matter?," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 1933-1960, December.

    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:spr:jhappi:v:18:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10902-016-9752-y. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.