Influence of different domains of social capital on psychological distress among Croatian high school students

Abstract

BackgroundSocial capital has been shown to have positive effects on multiple health outcomes among young people (i.e., obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and infectious diseases). Studies are suggesting that social capital is an important asset for the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents, including for their mental health. We sought to examine the influences of different domains of social capital – in the family, in the neighbourhood, and at school – on levels of psychological distress among high school students in Croatia.MethodsCross-sectional survey of 3427 high school students (1688 males and 1739 females), aged 17–18 years, was carried out in the 2013/14 school year (response rate: 93.8%). Logistic regression was used to examine the influence of family, neighbourhood and school social capital on the risk of high psychological distress, measured by the Kessler-6 scale.ResultsAdjusting for age, school, gender, body mass index, self-perceived socioeconomic status, self-rated health and physical activity, high family support in school (OR 0.37; 95% CI: 0.27-0.51), high neighbourhood trust (OR 0.62; 95% CI: 0.53-0.73), high teacher-student interpersonal trust (OR 0.74; 95% CI: 0.62-0.89) and high student interpersonal trust (OR 0.79; 95% CI: 0.65-0.97) was each associated with lower odds of psychological distress. When all of the social capital variables were entered simultaneously, higher social capital in each domain was inversely associated with psychological distress.ConclusionsFamily support in school, neighbourhood trust, teacher-student interpersonal trust and student interpersonal trust were significantly inversely associated with psychological distress among adolescents. Intervention and policies that leverage community social capital might serve as means of mental health promotion among youth.

Neighborhood social capital and sleep duration: a population based cross-sectional study in a rural Japanese town

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The association of various social capital indicators and physical activity participation among Turkish adolescents

“…Our results were consistent with other studies that measured informal social control with the same question and that also reported no association between informal social control and higher levels of health-related behaviors. 38 , 45 Although informal social control promotes outdoor PA in the neighborhood context by providing a sense of safety, strict maintenance of social order also may be interpreted as a regulation of adolescent behavior. Novak and Kawachi 45 suggest that strict maintenance of social order may have a downside of having too strong SC.…”

“…38 , 45 Although informal social control promotes outdoor PA in the neighborhood context by providing a sense of safety, strict maintenance of social order also may be interpreted as a regulation of adolescent behavior. Novak and Kawachi 45 suggest that strict maintenance of social order may have a downside of having too strong SC. For example, restrictions on individual freedom and downward leveling of norms are identified as negative consequences of too strong SC.…”

Are lower levels of physical activity and self-rated fitness associated with higher levels of psychological distress in Croatian young adults? A cross-sectional study

“…Approximately 30% of children and adolescents present mental disorders in the United States ( Costello et al, 2003 ). In Croatia, the prevalence of mental disorders among youth is 15.7% ( Rudan et al, 2005 ), girls experienced high psychological distress more frequently in the last 30 days, compared with boys (33% vs. 16%) ( Novak & Kawacki, 2015 ). In general, psychological distress is a term frequently used to describe the experience of unpleasant emotions and feelings that influence on everyday functioning ( Perales, del Pozo-Cruz & del Pozo-Cruz, 2014 ) and has been consistently associated with cardiovascular ( Mensah & Collins, 2015 ), metabolic ( Newcomer, 2007 ) and musculoskeletal ( Patten, Williams & Wang, 2006 ) diseases, cancer ( Kisely, Crowe & Lawrence, 2013 ) and overall mortality ( Walker, McGee & Druss, 2015 ).…”