Social Capital and Self-Rated Health in Older Populations in Lower- and Upper-Middle Income Countries

Abstract

Evidence on how access to social capital influences health among older populations in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is generally lacking. The existing evidence indicates that associations with health might be stronger for cognitive forms of social capital compared to structural forms. This chapter presents the comparative patterns of levels of individual social capital, and its association with self-rated health among older populations. Data from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) conducted in nationally representative samples of adults in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, the Russian Federation and South Africa were used. This study shows that (i) older men consistently reported better health than older women across the six countries; (ii) there is considerable gender heterogeneity in access to structural and cognitive social capital within each country and across the countries; and (iii) the associations between access to social capital and self-rated health differ between men and women within the same cultural context, as well as between cultural contexts across different countries. Access to bridging social capital and personal trust shows a positive and significant effect on self-rated health in both sexes, while access to bonding social capital and general trust have positive health effects only among women, and access to safety has a positive effect on health only among men. A better understanding of both individual and social determinants in the relationship between social capital and health in different settings is warranted and would allow for better-tailored public health recommendations for achieving health improvement in different settings.