The social capital and mental health of long-term social assistance recipients in Norway

Previous findings have generally demonstrated the positive mental health benefits of social capital. However, the mental health benefits of social capital for social assistance recipients have not been fully demonstrated. This study analyses the mental health benefits of individual-level bonding and individual-level bridging social capital for 551 Norwegian longer-term social assistance recipients. The findings demonstrate that bonding social capital, i.e. contacts with friends and access to social resources, are positively associated with mental health. Of the variables in the study that relate to bridging social capital, social trust and trust towards the social worker particularly show significant associations for mental health. Consequently, it is important that the mental health benefits of various forms of bonding and bridging social capital are acknowledged within social work practices and that social work practitioners actively aim to increase social trust in longer-term social assistance recipients.     

Neighborhood conditions and social network turnover among older adults

Increasing research highlights heterogeneity in patterns of social network change, with growing evidence that these patterns are shaped in part by social structure. The role of social and structural neighborhood conditions in the addition and loss of kin and non-kin network members, however, has not been fully considered. In this paper, we argue that the residential neighborhood context can either facilitate or prevent the turnover of core network relationships in later life – a period of the life course characterized by heightened reliance on network ties and vulnerability to neighborhood conditions. Using longitudinal data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project linked with data from the American Community Survey, we find that higher levels of neighborhood concentrated disadvantage are associated with the loss of older adults’ kin and non-kin network members over time. Higher levels of perceived neighborhood social interaction, however, are associated with higher rates of adding non-kin network members and lower rates of adding kin network members over time. We suggest that neighborhood conditions, including older adults’ perceptions of neighborhood social life, represent an underexplored influence on kin and non-kin social network dynamics, which could have implications for access to social resources later in the life course.     

More or less guanxi: Trust is 60% network context, 10% individual difference

The strong ties known in China as guanxi can be distinguished by a high level of trust relatively independent of the surrounding social structure. Using network data from a stratified probability sample of 700 entrepreneurs citing 4664 contacts, we study guanxi relative to other relations to learn how much individual differences such as well-being, business differences, political participation and demographic factors matter for the guanxi distinction. Two findings stand out: First, the connection between trust and social network is robust to most differences between individuals, especially business and political differences. Trust variance is 60% network context, and 10% individual differences. Trust increases within a relationship as network closure increases around the relationship, but some relationships mature into guanxi ties within which trust is high and relatively independent of the surrounding social structure. Second, when individual differences matter, they concern social isolation. Guanxi ties are more distinct in the networks around entrepreneurs with small, marginal families, and around those with small, closed networks. Both categories of entrepreneurs are likely to experience difficulties with respect to resource access and doing business with people beyond their network, which may explain why longstanding guanxi ties linked to important events are particularly distinct for these entrepreneurs.     

Class inequalities in access to social capital in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires

this paper analyzes social class inequalities in access to social capital. Quantitative methodology was used with data from the PI-Clases “Reproduction and social mobility in family trajectories and life courses” survey, conducted in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires in 2015 (n = 1065). Social capital measures where derived from the Position Generator (Lin, 2001) to identify the volume, status and range of the respondent’s networks. Results show that there are class inequalities in access to social capital in terms of the number of contacts, mean status of contacts, range of contact’s status and highest status of contacts. Also, the working class is more heterogeneous in its access to social capital, suggesting it has a sector that has network ties with people from the middle class and a sector with lower social capital. The observed trend is of gradational differences between class strata, with more marked inequalities between the service, intermediate and working class, but with fluid class boundaries without social segregation. Also, social capital is conditioned by intergenerational mobility trajectory, showing a trend of elasticity in the class composition of social relationships. The upwardly mobile can increase their access to social capital but don’t reach the same level as the intergenerationally stable, while the downwardly mobile retain some social capital from their class origins.     

The increasing importance of friends: Changes in core discussion network composition in post-communist Hungary between 1997 – 2015

In order to detect changes in social connectivity, we examined evolutions in the personal network structure by analyzing over-time trends in the composition of the population’s core discussion networks on four cross-sectional, nationally representative surveys between 1997 and 2015, in the era of post-communism, in Hungary. There has been a very significant change; in fact, a reversal of trends regarding the composition of the core discussion networks (CDNs) concerning kin and non-kin ties over the past decades. Our data suggest that friendship ties gained more importance. There seems to be a generation-specific aspect of the change: young people include family ties less often than older people and this effect strengthens over time. Women still have a higher ratio of kin ties compared to men and this effect does not change significantly during the analyzed period.     

Changes in small town social capital and civic engagement

Small towns are often depicted as places with many interpersonal relationships and generalized trust, or high social capital. Social capital is a resource which towns can use to solve problems and improve the local quality of life. In this paper, I determined if social capital and civic engagements have declined in small towns in the U.S. Midwest as has happened more generally and tested likely explanations for the change. Quantitative analyses of data from the U.S. Census, other secondary sources, and a longitudinal study of residents of 99 small towns were conducted. Findings revealed that social capital has declined, but one type of civic engagement improved. Towns in counties with more small farms in 1990 had more bonding social capital and civic engagement in 2004 than other towns when other factors were controlled. The proportion of local businesses had no impact on civic engagement and was negatively associated with one kind of social capital. Mixed findings about how income impacted social capital and civic engagement indicated a complex relationship. The retirement of the so called “civic generation” had minimal impact on social capital and civic engagement.     

Chronic illness and social network bridging in later life

Chronic disease has profound impacts on the structural features of individuals’ interpersonal connections such as bridging — ties to people who are otherwise poorly connected to each other. Prior research has documented competing arguments regarding the benefits of network bridging, but less is known about how chronic illness influences bridging and its underlying mechanisms. Using data on 1555 older adults from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), I find that older adults diagnosed with chronic illness tend to have lower bridging potential in their networks, particularly between kin and non-kin members. They also report more frequent interactions with close ties but fewer neighbors, friends, and colleagues in their networks, which mediates the association between chronic illness and social network bridging. These findings illuminate both direct and indirect pathways through which chronic illness affects network bridging and highlight the context-specific implications for social networks in later life.     

The Economic Returns of Immigrants’ Bonding and Bridging Social Capital: The Case of the Netherlands1

This paper aims at explaining to what extent social capital can help immigrants in the Netherlands make headway on the labor market. Two forms of social capital are identified. Bonding refers to a dense network with thick trust and is measured as the strength of family ties and trust in the family. Bridging implies a crosscutting network with thin trust and is measured as inter-ethnic contacts and outward orientation. It is examined to what extent bonding and bridging for immigrants in the Netherlands can be associated with a higher likelihood of employment and higher income. Results show that (1) bridging networks are positively associated with both employment and income; (2) bonding networks do not affect economic outcomes; and (3) levels of trust (neither thick nor thin) cannot explain economic outcomes.     

The role of Landcare group networks in rural Australia: exploring the contribution of social capital

In this paper, the authors report their qualitative research examining the origins, modus operandi and outcomes of two networks. The concept of social capital explains, at least in part, the apparent success of these networks. The two networks attracted substantial funding, created opportunities for participation and shared learning, carried out extensive on-ground works, improved communication structures, adopted more professional management practices and increased the knowledge of members. The key elements of social capital that were important in achieving these outcomes were trust, norms, expectations of reciprocity and linkages. Empowerment acted as a bridge that linked social capital with other factors contributing to network outcomes. The success of these Landcare networks suggests that top-down government stimulus can be a catalyst for bottom-up community development.     

An exploratory comparison of name generator content: Data from rural India

Since the 1970s sociologists have explored the best means for measuring social networks, although few name generator analyses have used sociocentric data or data from developing countries, partly because sociocentric studies in developing countries have been scant. Here, we analyze 12 different name generators used in a sociocentric network study conducted in 75 villages in rural Karnataka, India. Having unusual sociocentric data from a non-Western context allowed us to extend previous name generator research through the unique analyses of network structural measures, an extensive consideration of homophily, and investigation of status difference between egos and alters. We found that domestic interaction questions generated networks that were highly clustered and highly centralized. Similarity between respondents and their nominated contacts was strongest for gender, caste, and religion. We also found that domestic interaction name generators yielded the most homogeneous ties, while advice questions yielded the most heterogeneous. Participants were generally more likely to nominate those of higher social status, although certain questions, such as who participants talk to uncovered more egalitarian relationships, while other name generators elicited the names of social contacts distinctly higher or lower in status than the respondent. Some questions also seemed to uncover networks that were specific to the cultural context, suggesting that network researchers should balance local relevance with global generalizability when choosing name generators.     

Secondhand social capital: Boundary spanning,secondhand closure,and individual performance

We move beyond the performance returns of individuals’ direct network connections to study the effects of “secondhand” social capital, i.e., from the networks of one’s contacts. We propose that certain colleagues may be more valuable to one’s job performance than others when their spillovers of novel information combine with spillovers of the cooperation needed to obtain that novelty. In a study of 1273 research and development employees across 16 business units, we find that the most benefit to one’s own performance comes from having ties that span business units and that also include secondhand closure (i.e., where one’s contacts are each embedded in a constrained, dense network). Bridging the organizational boundary provides the novelty; and secondhand closure provides the cooperation. Further, by examining who in the network is constraining these contacts, we are able to trace their cooperative motivation both to reputational and organizational identity concerns, which each create a spillover of cooperation toward the focal individual, who reaps the returns.     

Ask and you shall receive: Social network contacts’ provision of help during the job search

Social network contacts—the people who are asked to help with others’ job searches—are key players in the job networking process. Before job seekers can become employed with the help social networks, contacts must first be able and willing to share the social resources job seekers need for their search. Little is known about the factors that affect contacts’ ability and willingness to do this. Analyses of a unique dataset of contacts show that they typically have access to resources and help job seekers by sharing them. Still, contacts are better able to help when they are male, employed, and better educated than job seekers. They are more willing to help when they perceive job seekers to be “good” workers. In identifying the conditions in which contacts provide social resources, this study illustrates how social networks are a productive job search strategy for some, but not all, job seekers.     

Trust and social capital in the regulation of lending activities

When a bank grants a loan, it takes the risk that the borrower will not honor his debt. To reduce this uncertainty, banks have created instrumental evaluation methods in order to try to evaluate the risk more objectively. An analysis of financial counselors’ practices shows the limits of these methods. To obtain information needed for the financial risk evaluation and to reduce the information asymmetry between bankers and borrowers, financial counselors integrate social networks to establish bonds of trust and to accumulate social capital. The quality of the social bond determines the quality of the gathered information and therefore the quality of the risk evaluation. Bank management is aware of the limits of instrumental methods and the importance of social risk evaluation. To improve their economic efficiency, they modify their work organization and their management practices so as to facilitate the emergence of a bond of trust and the accumulation of social capital by their financial counselors. The analysis of economic actors’ speech and behavior involved in activities of credit shows that behind the claimed altruism nature of the trust relationship exists an economic rationality whose social and temporal horizons of optimization differ from the model of the trade exchange seen in conventional economic theory.     

Pathways to happiness: From personality to social networks and perceived support

The present study attempts to incorporate individual personality into a social network account of subjective wellbeing (SWB) by proposing and testing a path model in which social relationships (egocentric social networks and perceived social support, PSS) mediate the relationship between personality and SWB. We found that network characteristics (including network size, emotional closeness, and proportion of new contacts) are related to SWB largely via the mediation of PSS. Additionally, network size and proportion of new contacts function as important mediating mechanisms linking extraversion, agreeableness and openness to PSS and SWB.     

Social network structure and the trade-off between social utility and economic performance

We put forward a computational multi-agent model capturing the impact of social network structure on individuals’ social trust, willingness to cooperate, social utility and economic performance. Social network structure is modeled as four distinct social capital dimensions: degree, centrality, bridging and bonding social capital. Model setup draws from socio-economic theory and empirical findings based on our novel survey dataset. Results include aggregate-level comparative statics and individual-level correlations. We find, inter alia, that societies that either are better connected, exhibit a lower frequency of local cliques, or have a smaller share of family-based cliques, record relatively better aggregate economic performance. As long as family ties are sufficiently valuable, there is a trade-off between aggregate social utility and economic performance, and small world networks are then socially optimal. We also find that in dense networks and trustful societies, there is a trade-off between individual social utility and economic performance; otherwise both outcomes are positively correlated in the cross section.     

The social networks of new-generation migrants in China’s urbanized villages: A case study of Guangzhou

The integration of rural migrants into China’s urban society has drawn extensive attention in recent years. There are, however, a growing number of new-generation migrants whose prospects of integration cannot be gleaned from the experience of their predecessors—the old-generation migrants. The reconstruction of migrant network is a lens through which one can examine the extent and pattern of their integration. In this paper, using quantitative data derived from a survey of eight urbanized villages in Guangzhou, we examine the socio-spatial pattern of migrant networks and the role of receiving neighborhoods in social interactions, with a focus on inter-generational differences. The findings show that new-generation migrants are more likely to draw on cross-class, non-kin, and non-territorial networks when seeking social support, but that hometown-based bonds and the urbanite-migrant divisions remain central to their social networks. For the role of receiving neighborhoods, although new-generation migrants have weak neighborly interactions, they construct numerous colleagues and friendship ties that transcend the boundaries of neighborhoods. Moreover, educational attainment, income level, and occupation structure are important determinants of the nature of new-generation migrant networks. The results suggest that generational factors should be highly considered when studying the integration of migrants into Chinese urban society. Accordingly, the integration of migrants into the urban society will be a conflictual and contradictory process.     

Facilitating achievement by social capital in Japan

Social capital, as a comprehensive concept, comprises structural components representing social networks and functional components, which register past and future help, reciprocity, and trust. One assumption is that these various components interact and reinforce one another to enhance an individual's expected achievement. To validate the conceptualization and examine the consequences of social capital, the present study analyzed a set of data collected from 201 residents based in Japan. The results demonstrated that conceptualization proves to be valid in view of its adequacy in internal consistency and stability in the confirmatory factor model. The structural equation modeling likewise revealed contributions of the social capital components both individually and interactively. Notably, the Japanese respondents expected greater achievement with higher levels of both structural social capital and anticipatory functional social capital, which consequently tapped expected help, trust, and reciprocity. Structural social capital appeared to be a basis for functional social capital.     

Social mobility and social capital in contemporary Britain

This paper seeks to contribute to social capital research by linking measures of formal and informal forms of social capital to social mobility trajectories and assessing their impact on social trust. Drawing on data from a recent national survey – Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion (2003/2004 ) – we analyse formal civic engagement and informal social connections. The latter data are obtained using, for the first time in a study in Britain, Lin's (2001 ) 'Position Generator' approach as a means to identify the volume, range and position of individuals' informal social contacts. The pattern of contacts suggests that access to social ties is strongly conditioned by mobility trajectory. We also show that civic engagement in formal associations is especially high among second-generation members of the service class. It is also shown that both class trajectory and possession of two types of social capital have significant impacts on trust. Among the social groups disadvantaged in terms of bridging social ties are not only those in lower classes but also women and members of minority ethnic groups.     

Residential mobility and the spatial dispersion of personal networks: Effects on social support

Using a representative national sample of personal networks, this article explores how the spatial dispersion of networks, residential mobility and social support are linked. Three issues will be addressed here. Firstly, how is the spatial dispersion of personal networks related to individuals’ social characteristics, network composition and residential mobility? Secondly, how do the spatial dispersion of networks, residential mobility and their combined effect influence the number and (thirdly) the structure of emotional support ties? Results showed that the extent of the support was affected neither by the geographical distribution of the networks nor by residential mobility. Living far from one's birthplace, however, exerted two distinct, and opposite effects on the support network structure. On the one hand, mobility led to high spatial dispersion of personal contacts, which in turn favored a sparsely knit network centered around the mobile individual. On the other hand, by controlling for the effect of distance between the contacts, we found that individuals that cited long-distance ties tended to be part of more transitive support networks than those that cited local ties. We interpreted the latter effect as evidence that transitive ties may survive greater spatial distances than intransitive ones. These findings are discussed in view of spatial mobility and social network research.     

DETERMINANTS OF INDIVIDUAL NEIGHBORHOOD TIES AND SOCIAL RESOURCES IN POOR URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS

Studies on life in poor urban neighborhoods suggest the importance of kin and non-kin ties for support. Research also notes the dearth of certain ties that are important to locate economic and social resources. This research evaluates the determinants of certain types of social resources for residents in poor urban neighborhoods. Specifically, I consider the relationship between five types of neighborhood ties for residents--religious, kin, friendship, neighbor, and informal jobs--as well as race/ethnicity, and neighborhood poverty and social resources. Using the Urban Poverty & Family Life Survey and OLS and logistic regression analyses, results show religious and friendship ties are important predictors of individual social resources and support. Also, neighborhood poverty is insignificant in most of the analyses and when it is important, residents in more impoverished areas are more likely to seek out social resources than their counterparts in non-poor and moderately poor areas. These findings support variants of Compression and Composition theories as possibleexemplars for explaining ways in which residents secure social resources in poor urban neighborhoods.