The effect of social capital factors on social welfare in rural areas of Kermanshah County: a case of Bala-darband Dehestan

Nowaday, the relationship between the two concepts of social capital and social welfare is evident, to the point where it can be admitted that by storing social capital more conditions can be created that achieve a high level of social welfare in most communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of social capital factors on wellbeing in rural regions, Bala-darband Dehestan of Kermanshah County. In this study, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire. Face validity was confirmed by a panel of experts. Statistical population of the study was the head of rural households in Bala-darband Dehestan, that using multi-stage random cluster sampling, 160 subjects were selected. In order to investigate the fitness of latent variables and test of hypothesis, structural equation modeling with LISRELver8.50 software was used. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed the consistency with the theoretical assumptions. Results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that social capital factors such as social trust (t=3/18, γ=0/28), social solidarity (t=2/00, γ=0/17) and knowledge (t=4/18, γ=0/44) were the most important determinants to predict wellbeing of rural households and explain 51 percent of variability in the rural wellbeing. Finally, the study offered applied achievements to rural development custodians and managers for improving social capital factors.