More social capital in a society can relieve stress and improve the health of the society
The low social capital that comes with income inequality can lead to more stress and poor health, and dramatic income inequality gets rid of the possibility for there to be lots of social capital in a society, leading to more stress and poor health. So income inequality, minimal trust, lack of social cohesion all go together. Which causes which, and which is most predictive of poor health? To figure this out, you need some fancy statistical techniques called path analysis. An example: chronic stress makes for more heart disease. Stress can do this by directly increasing blood pressure. But stress also makes lots of people eat less healthfully. How much is the path from stress to heart disease directly via blood pressure, and how much by the indirect route of changing diet? That’s the sort of thing that a path analysis can tell you. And Kawachi’s work shows that the strongest route from income inequality (after controlling for absolute income) to poor health is via the social capital measures.
How does lots of social capital turn into better health throughout a community? Less social isolation. More rapid diffusion of health information. Potentially, social constraints on publicly unhealthy behaviors. Less psychological stress. Better organized groups demanding better public services (and, related to that, another great measure of social capital is how many people in a community bother to vote).
References
- Sapolsky, Robert. (2004). Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers Chapter 17. The View from the Bottom (p. 531). New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Psychology / Neuropsychology / Social Psychology Sociology / Medicine / Politics / Economics Status:☀️