An Investigation of Social Capital and its Relationship with Religious Attitudes among the Students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences

Social capital is defined as norms and networks which provide conditions for participation in social activities in order to profit mutually. This study was designed to evaluate the social capital status of students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences and its relationship with religious attitudes. This was a cross-sectional study of 500 students from Ardabil University of Medical Sciences during second half of the academic year 2014. Data were collected using demographic, social capital and religious attitudes questionnaires and analyzed by SPSS 22 using T-Test, Pearson correlation and ONOVA tests. Total means score for social capital was 80.0±16. There was significant correlation between all dimensions of social capital (except for dimension of family and friends connections) and religious attitudes status (p<0.05). Due to the influence of social capital and its relationship with the religious attitude, it can be a guide for reduction of concerns about the educated classes and increasing their social capital