The studies described in this section investigate
the influence of social relationships on health. Social relationships are
described using various terms and measures—among them, relationships
and connections to people, levels of interpersonal trust and mutual aid,
social cohesion and collective efficacy, social support, group membership,
mutual respect, and social power or the ability to work together to achieve
desired ends. Social power is related to public health constructs such
as community capacity, competence, and empowerment.
Various measures of
social relationships have been linked to mortality, self-rated health,
birth outcomes, violence, and mental health. Some authors
suggest that the mechanisms by which social capital may improve the health
of a neighborhood include: promoting more rapid dissemination of health
information; norms encouraging healthy behaviors; exerting social control
over deviant health-related behavior or collective efficacy to prevent
crime; increasing access to services through political processes and
more egalitarian patterns of political participation; and psychosocial
processes.
Drawing from the findings of their studies of social relationships
and health, several researchers suggest 1) tracking indicators of community
factors that affect quality of life; 2) considering a policy's potential
to promote social capital when evaluating local policies; and 3) promoting
policies to reduce inequalities in wealth, facilitate political participation,
reduce racial residential segregation, improve child care and working
conditions for women, increase neighborhood stabilization, increase
economic development,
and increase investment in community capacity building.
Buka
SF, Brennan RT, Rich-Edwards JW, Raudenbush S, Earls F. Neighborhood support
and the birth weight of urban infants. American Journal of Epidemiology.
2003;157:1-8.
Duncan
TE, Duncan SC, Okut H, Strycker LA, Hix-Small H. A multilevel contextual
model of neighborhood collective efficacy. American Journal of Community
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Greenlining Institute. Community ties: connections to
health. San
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James SA, Schulz AJ, Van
Olphen J. Social capital, poverty, and community health: an exploration
of the linkages. In: Saegert S, Thompson JP, Warren MR, ed. Social capital
and poor communities. New York: Russell Sage Foundation; 2001:165-188.
Johnell
K, Merlo J, Lynch J, Blennow G. Neighborhood social participation and women's
use of anxiolytic-hypnotic drugs: a multilevel analysis. Journal of
Epidemiology and Community Health. 2004;58:59-64.
Kawachi
I. Social capital and community effects on population and individual health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1999;896:120-130.
Kawachi
I, Kennedy BP, et al. Crime: social disorganization and relative deprivation. Social Science and Medicine. 1999;48:719-731.
Kawachi
I, Kennedy BP, et al. Social capital and self-rated health: a contextual
analysis. American Journal of Public Health. 1999;89:1187-1193.
Kawachi
I, Kennedy BP, et al. Women's status and the health of women and men: a
view from the states. Social Science and Medicine. 1999;48:21-32.
Mullings
L, Wali A, et al. Qualitative methodologies and community participation
in examining reproductive experiences: the Harlem Birth Right Project. Maternal
and Child Health Journal. 2002;5:85-93.
Muntaner
C, Lynch J, et al. 1999. The social class determinants of income inequality
and social cohesion. International Journal of Health Services. 1999;29:699-732.
Ross
CE, and Jang SJ. Neighborhood disorder, fear, and mistrust: the buffering
role of social ties with neighbors. American Journal of Community Psychology. 2000;28:401-420.
Sampson
RJ, Raudenbush SW, et al. Neighborhoods and violent crime: a multilevel
study of collective efficacy. Science. 1997;277:918-924.
