A Study of the Relationship between Social Capital and Social Happiness among the Youth of Dehlorn, Iran

Social capital provides a backdrop for vitality and happiness of the society via elements such as participation, social trust and social solidarity. This study sought to investigate the relationship between social capital and social happiness among the youth aged between 18 and 30, in the city of Dehloran in 2017. The theoretical foundation of the present study was the views of major experts in social capital, including Putnam, Coleman, Bourdieu, and Mazlow.  A quantitative correlational research design was utilized for this study. The population included all the youth aged between 18 and 30, from which 400 were selected as the sample through cluster sampling. To collect the required data, the standard questionnaires of social capital used in the NationalCenter for Social Observatory (2015), and the modified Oxford Happiness Questionnaire were employed. To test the hypotheses, multiple regression and structural equation modeling (Lisrel software) as well as factor analysis were used. The results suggested that there was a direct positive relationship between social capital (trust, universalism, moral values and attributes, participation, give-and-take, national affiliation, life satisfaction and sense of security) and social Happiness. The size of the relationship was about 57%. The mean values of social capital and social happiness of the sample were 3.90 and 3.68, respectively which was slightly over the medium level. In addition, the relationship between demographic variables (age, marital status, education and gender) and social happiness was investigated. Age, marital status and gender were significantly related to social happiness; while, no relationship was found between education and social happiness.