Determinants of Social Capital in Tehran Residents Using Path Analysis: Urban HEART Study

Social capital consists of individual's communicational networks, social norms such as mutual trust and cooperation in social networks. The aim of this study was to develop a model to assess the implication of different determinants such as age, gender, occupational status, mental and physical health on social capital components to draw a correlation network for social capital determinants.

For the purpose of this study, data was used from ‘social capital' section of Urban HEART-1 survey, which included 22,500 households from all 22 districts of Tehran, who were approached in a randomized multistage cluster sampling method. Path analysis is a statistical method to test hypothetical causal models, which requires various causal (path) diagrams. To demonstrate the causal models of social capital, the hypothetical paths of various components were developed and the final model of social capital was drawn using multiple regression analyses.

Path analysis indicated that social capital components are influenced by various variables: A) Individual trust, by occupational status, marital status, and physical component of health-related quality of life; B) Cohesion and social support, by education, age, and marital status; C) Collective trust and associative relation, by family size, age and physical health. Direct effect of these variables on social capital components was more than their indirect effects (through mental health and physical health).

Social capital components are directly affected by occupational, marital, educational status, family size, physical health and duration of local residency. Planning to improve educational and occupational status, strengthening family bonds and provision of local facilities, may improve social capital.