Social participation and self-rated psychological health: A longitudinal study on BHPS

Abstract

Although social capital has been hypothesized to have positive influence on psychological health, a relationship between social capital dimensions and psychological wellbeing has rarely been found. This longitudinal study investigates the relationship between social participation in associations and self-rated psychological health. The paper uses five waves of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) from 1991 to 1995 (unbalanced panel N=45,761). Ordered logit fixed effect methods were used to study the longitudinal link between structural social capital (being a member, active, and both a member and active in associations) and self-rated psychological health assessed by single items of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) controlling for age, marital status, household size, number of children, education, income, economic status, number of visits to the GP and health problems. The paper shows that being only a member and only active in associations has no statistical relationship with almost all the items of the GHQ-12. Instead, being both a member and active in associations is linked to all “positive” items of self-rated psychological health and to two main “negative” items of psychological wellbeing. These findings highlight the protective role of being both a member and active in associations against poor psychological health outcomes.

Association between sporting event attendance and self-rated health: an analysis of multiyear cross-sectional national data in Japan

“…Based on Grossman’s [ 9 ] health production model, our key assertion is that attending a live sporting event as spectators represents a lifestyle behavior that allows individuals to increase health resources and hence enjoy good health as indicated by an elevated level of self-rated health. This assertion finds support from the psychology literature that highlights the role of psychosocial resources in maintaining and enhancing health outcomes [ 11 , 12 ]. Specifically, the literature posits that the extent to which individuals can maintain good health is at least partly determined by the availability of psychological resources (e.g., positive emotions, self-esteem) and social resources (e.g., social support, social capital).…”

“…Building upon Grossman’s [ 9 ] health production model and psychological research on the health benefits of psychosocial resources [ 11 , 12 ], the current research examined the association between sporting event attendance and self-rated health using multiyear cross-sectional data from the NSLS, a national survey conducted in Japan. The results offer support for the positive relationship between sporting event attendance and self-rated health over a 12-year period, extending the understanding of how the perception of health relates to nonexercise forms of leisure [ 6 , 7 , 25 , 28 ].…”

“…Finally, building on Grossman’s [ 9 ] health production model and psychological research on the health benefits of psychosocial resources [ 11 , 12 ], the introduction section of this article provides a plausible explanation of why the relationship between sporting event attendance and self-rated health exists. However, the proposed mechanism underlying this relationship remains untested and requires empirical scrutiny.…”

“…Specifically, the literature posits that the extent to which individuals can maintain good health is at least partly determined by the availability of psychological resources (e.g., positive emotions, self-esteem) and social resources (e.g., social support, social capital). This is because these resources can serve as protective factors that reduce the negative health effects of stressful events and adversity [ 11 , 12 ]. Consistent with this psychological approach to understanding health, researchers have demonstrated that leisure represents a context in which individuals obtain various psychosocial resources, such as a sense of meaningfulness, positive emotions, resilience, and friendships and companionships [ 13 ].…”

“…The collective evidence from the abovementioned studies suggests that attending live sporting events may produce psychosocial resources. The creation of these resources through sporting event attendance, in turn, could help reduce the negative health consequences of stress and adversity [ 11 , 12 ] and serve as a general protective factor [ 13 ], which would slow down the depreciation of the stock of health [ 9 ]. It is important to acknowledge empirical evidence indicating that sport spectating could have adverse effects on health in the short term, such as temporal experience of psychological distress and engagement in unhealthy eating habits [ 17 , 20 ].…”