Community-Level Social Capital and Psychological Distress among the Elderly in Japan: A Population-Based Study.

ABSTRACT: Despite accumulating evidence, previous studies have not clearly separated the contribution of community-level social capital on mental health from that of individual-level social support. We examined the association between community-level social capital and psychological distress in a sample of older Japanese individuals, taking into account the effects of individual-level social capital and social support. We collected data via a cross-sectional survey among all residents aged ≥65 in three rural municipalities in Okayama Prefecture. We measured two components of social capital in the questionnaire: perceptions of trust and reciprocity in the community. Community-level social capital was obtained by aggregating individual responses and calculating the proportion of subjects reporting mis

SUBMITTER: Kobayashi T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4638358 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature