A Study of the Impact of Cultural Capital on General Health by the Mediating role of Healthy Lifestyle (Case study: High School Students of Shiraz)

Although social and economic capitals have been studied more often in health studies (Ghasemi et al., 2008; Nekonam et al., 2015; Chuang et al., 2015; Frank et al., 2015), cultural capital could have a significant impact on heath and related behaviors. By increasing cultural capital through education, training, attending cultural events and consuming cultural goods, one’s lifestyle can change (Khaje-Noori & Koochani Esfahani, 2016). As it is well known, human societies are in forth step of epidemiological transmission which is named hubristic, in which lifestyle plays a crucial role in the health and mortality of people (Lucas & Meyer, 1994). The aim of this study is to investigate the students’ cultural capital impact on general health through the mediating role of healthy lifestyle. Applied Theoretical framework of this study is driven from Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital and Cockerham’s theory about healthy lifestyle. Bourdieu (1986) invented the term cultural capital to refer to the set of cultural proficiencies people usually inherit and sometimes learn. Moreover, Bourdieu theorized that cultural capital exists in three forms including embodied, objectified, and institutionalized. Briefly, in the embodied state capital pertains to dispositions of mind and body, in the objectified state capital refers to cultural goods and in the institutionalized state capital refers to the license that an institution or governing body confers on individuals who have achieved a societally sanctioned goal or status (Tierney, 1999). Bourdieu’s book Distinction (1984) includes an analysis of food habits and sports describing how a class-oriented habitus shaped these particular aspects of health lifestyles. However, Cockerham’s works (1999 & 2000) provides an appropriate framework. He follows Bourdieu’s theoretical framework in his theory of healthy lifestyles and in identifying negative healthy lifestyles as the primary social determinant of ongoing downturn in life expectancy. According to Cockerham (2010), the structure of everyday life both limits and molds health–related choices to the extent that lifestyle may lead to premature death.

This quantitative study is designed by a cross-sectional survey. The instrument was a self-response questionnaire including General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Pender’s Health-Promotion Lifestyle Profile, and Ebrahimi & Ziapoor’s (2012) Cultural Capital Questionnaire according to Bourdieu’s theory. The statistical population included high school students of Shiraz, of whom 391 male and female students were selected as statistical sample using Cochran formula. Cluster sampling was used to collect data using the statistics from Education Organization of Shiraz. For validity and reliability tests, face validity and Cronbach’s coefficient alpha were used (the latter being more than 0.65 for all the variables).

Descriptive findings suggest that students have a good status on both healthy behaviors and general health. Suitable somatic symptoms, spiritual growth and institutionalized cultural capital had the highest scores in general health, healthy lifestyle and cultural capital respectively. The results showed that all the three variables including cultural capital, healthy lifestyle and general health have positive and significant correlations. Model fit indices for the fitness of applied measurement model is acceptable. Moreover, the results of Structural Equations Modeling (SEM) demonstrated that student’s general health is indirectly and positively influenced by cultural capital through the variable of healthy lifestyle. In details, cultural capital positively influences healthy lifestyle and healthy lifestyle has the same effect on general health. Therefore, it is expected that any increase in the cultural capital of students promote healthy behaviors and general health. Overall, the results of this study approved the accuracy of the measurement model of this study and highlighted the importance of cultural capital in promotion of both general health and healthy behaviors.