Aging & Social Change: Ninth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Social capital has repeatedly been linked to several health outcomes. However; studies that have investigated relations among various forms of social capital and health are sparse in the Indian context. Does social capital—a concept and the measurement of which have been developed mainly within the context of rich and Western societies— bear a similar empirical relationship with health and well-being in India? This study focused on examining the association among trust, social participation with self-rated health (SRH). Cross-sectional data from the Study on Global Aging and Adult Health (SAGE) conducted by WHO (2007) covering a nationally representative (n=11,230) sample is used to examine the strength and association between social capital on SRH. The study aims to investigate potential pathways between social capital and self-rated health (SRH) mediated via the sense of social safety. Structural equation model (SEM) is specified including the above-listed variables. Social capital has a stronger impact on self-rated health. The indirect pathway via the sense of social safety has a significant impact on SRH. SRH is also tightly linked to personal background variables.