Social Capital and Health Risk: An Integrative Review

Abstract

The impact of health risk behaviours on the social and economic fabric of society is of concern to social marketers and policy makers. Current research suggests social capital, that is, the positive benefits gained from a relationship with others in the community, plays a key role in addressing health risk behaviours. The current literature on social capital and health is fragmented, and the field has yet to produce an up-to-date synthesis of past findings to help researchers understand the current status of this research area. This article fills this gap with an integrative review of empirical research based on rigorous criteria. Boolean search was used to limit the search to only those articles containing the keywords ‘social capital’ and ‘health risk’ but no limits were applied for country or population of interest or publication start date. Two researchers screened through the title, abstract and introduction of every retrieved article independently according to the inclusion criteria. A total of 105 articles were eligible for further analyses. This article contributes by: (1) providing a structured overview with an aim to disentangle the findings of varied past studies addressing the theme; (2) identifying important gaps in current knowledge; (3) presenting a research agenda that flows logically from the theoretical gaps identified; and lastly (4) proposing a theoretical framework upon which social capital interventions can be designed and executed to mitigate health risk. We hope that the key issues and new directions presented in this paper will provide new impetus in this area of research.

Online social capital, offline social capital and health: Evidence from China

“…However, more online social capital may also link to some unhealthy behaviors, such as sedentariness and long‐time screen use (Shi et al., 2020), and harmful information on health can also be spread through SNS (Loss et al., 2014). Accordingly, a review study reports that the association between online social capital and health remains unclear and needs more discussion (Yap et al., 2019).…”

“…Furthermore, prior evidence also suggests that online social capital is highly related to offline social capital, and online social interactions can usually help maintain and consolidate people's offline social networks (Nguyen et al., 2020; Yap et al., 2019). Considering the above association between online and offline social capital, exploring the association between online social capital and health in a given level of offline social capital is needed.…”

“…If we know whether online social capital brings health benefits in a given level of offline social capital, we can reasonably arrange the use of SNS to obtain more health returns. Although some studies have reported that online social capital can improve health more or less (Dang, 2020; Oh et al., 2013; Yap et al., 2019), they fail to discuss the interaction between online and offline social capital in health promotion. Furthermore, previous studies usually discuss online social capital, offline social capital, and health among young people (usually high school and college students) rather than adults of all ages.…”

The Interplay of Positive and Negative Emotions to Quit Unhealthy Consumption Behaviors: Insights for Social Marketers

“…As a response, the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has encouraged policy makers to raise awareness of the negative consequences of smoking through public campaigns, such as with pictorial warnings and text (Framework Convention Alliance, 2017; Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, 2003). Globally, governments have implemented controls such as the adoption of plain and unbranded packaging, sales restrictions, advertising bans, and public health warnings (Australian Government, 2011; US Department of Health and Human Services, 1994, 1998, 2000; Levy et al, 2012; Burton et al, 2013).…”

Coping with crisis: The paradox of technology and consumer vulnerability

“…As social capital (i.e. resources gained from relationships with community members) can help promote healthy behaviours(Yap et al, 2019), future research could also study the role of social capital dimensions (i.e. bridging and bonding) in addressing disaster-induced addictive screen consumption.…”