Investigating the Relationship between Demographic Variables and Social Capital Among Iranian Medical Students

Social capital is one of the variables influencing the economic, social and health development of society. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the social among Iranian university students.

This study is a cross-sectional study. The statistical population of this research includes all students of Iran University of Medical Sciences in 2017. 367 people were selected randomly using the Cochran sampling formula. In order to collect the data, the Delaouiz Social Capital Questionnaire (2005) was used along with a number of underlying variables. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were used for face validity and Cronbach's alpha, respectively. Also, for analyzing the data, spss17, and one-way ANOVA, t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used.

Social capital in this research with an average of 91/54 was moderate. The results showed that the students had the lowest level of in the dimension trust (10.97) and in the group's participation with the average (17.47) had the highest social capital. Also, there was no significant relationship between age, college, sex and marital status with social capital. But the variables of employment status, educational level, and residence status had a significant relationship with social capital.

Social capital can affect the mental and social health of students as well as their level of scientific and social progress. Therefore, attention to the social capital of students and its promotion should be one of the main goals of the authorities of the university and society.