The Relationship Between Social Capital on Social Health of High School Students

Social health is a major issue in any society; because the foundation of a healthy society and its progress require a society with all types of physical, mental and social health. The present study investigated social capital and its dimensions, including structural, cognitive and relational dimensions as well as its underlying variables.

Method of this study was correlational descriptive. The study population consisted of all the students between fifteen and eighteen years old living in Babolsar, Iran; in 2017. Using multistage cluster sampling four hundred individuals were selected as sample. T-test, F-test and structural equation modeling (LISREL) were used to test the hypotheses.

The findings showed that there was a significant direct correlation between social capital and social health.(r=0.74) The "relational" dimension was the most influential dimension of social capital on social health. The Studying with demographic variables, education variable, was correlated to the dependent variable, but variable gender wasn’t correlated. Also, the mean scores of social capital and social health were slightly higher than average. (4.02, 3.82>3)

Given the direct impact of social capital on health, we must work towards strengthening the social capital of society, especially for young people.