Social Capital and Healthy Aging: A study on the effect of social capital using multilevel modeling

Yugyeong Eo (Seoul National University)
Intae Kim (Seoul National University)
Seokho Hong (SNU SSK Research Center for Aged Society and Social Capital)
Soon Eun Kim (Seoul National University)

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of social capital on the healthy aging of the elderly. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze social capital at individual and local levels. Also, we applied the concepts of 'bonding social capital' and 'bridging social capital' to explain the theoretical impact of local-level social capital on the health of elderly individuals. Individual social capital was measured by the elderly person's perception of trust, networks, and participation. For this purpose, a survey conducted on 1,060 persons over 65 years old in 32 local governments was used. Local-level social capital was measured by the average level of trust in local community, number of various associations, local election turnout and so on.

The results showed that higher levels of individual social capital were associated with higher subjective health status for the elderly. However, results were mixed regarding the impact of local-level social capital. Higher generalized levels of trust, greater numbers of religious, volunteer, political, industry and professional organizations, and higher information disclosure application rates were associated with higher subjective health status for the elderly. On the other hand, higher levels of trust in local community and greater numbers of civil movement organizations and labor unions were associated with lower subjective health level for the elderly. These results imply that social capital can promote healthy aging if it is based on a positive relationship with the elderly, but that it may have insignificant or adverse effects if it is not related to the elderly. Based on this analysis, policy measures were proposed to improve the health of the elderly through social capital.

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