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Social capital and self-rated health among older adults: a comparative analysis of Finland, Poland and Spain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2014

ELENI KOUTSOGEORGOU ,
FREDRICA NYQVIST ,
MIKAEL NYGÅRD ,
MILDA CERNIAUSKAITE ,
RUI QUINTAS ,
ALBERTO RAGGI  and
MATILDE LEONARDI
ELENI KOUTSOGEORGOU*
Affiliation:
Neurology, Public Health and Disability Unit, Neurological Institute Carlo Besta, IRCCS Foundation, Milan, Italy.
FREDRICA NYQVIST
Affiliation:
Mental Health Promotion Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Vaasa, Finland.
MIKAEL NYGÅRD
Affiliation:
Department of Social Sciences, Åbo Akademi University, Vaasa, Finland.
MILDA CERNIAUSKAITE
Affiliation:
Neurology, Public Health and Disability Unit, Neurological Institute Carlo Besta, IRCCS Foundation, Milan, Italy.
RUI QUINTAS
Affiliation:
Neurology, Public Health and Disability Unit, Neurological Institute Carlo Besta, IRCCS Foundation, Milan, Italy.
ALBERTO RAGGI
Affiliation:
Neurology, Public Health and Disability Unit, Neurological Institute Carlo Besta, IRCCS Foundation, Milan, Italy.
MATILDE LEONARDI
Affiliation:
Neurology, Public Health and Disability Unit, Neurological Institute Carlo Besta, IRCCS Foundation, Milan, Italy.
*
Address for correspondence: Eleni Koutsogeorgou, Neurology, Public Health and Disability Unit, Scientific Directorate, Neurological Institute Carlo Besta, IRCCS Foundation, Via G. Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy E-mail: e.koutsogeorgou@gmail.com
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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the association between structural and cognitive aspects of social capital and self-rated health among adults aged 50 or more, living in three countries: Finland, Poland and Spain. The study, which was based on data from the European Social Survey (2008/09), was a part of the EU research project COURAGE in Europe. More specifically the paper assesses the association between social capital indicators – informal social network and general trust – and good self-rated health through single-level and joint effects analyses. The results showed that Finland was a country of high social capital, in terms of both social networks and general trust, while Spain showed low levels of general trust and Poland low levels of informal social networks. As to the association between social capital and self-rated health, high levels of general trust and high networks were found to be associated with good health among all countries' respondents. Older persons living in partnerships, with higher education, higher levels of engagement in informal networks and general trust, were found to be more likely to show good self-rated health. Our comparative analyses revealed different associations between social capital and health according to country.

Keywords

ageingsocial capitaltrustsocial networksself-rated healthFinlandPolandSpain
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , March 2015 , pp. 653 - 667
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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