Capital interplays and the self-rated health of young men: results from a cross-sectional study in Switzerland

International Journal for Equity in Health

Thomas Abel¹  Gerry Veenstra² 

[1] Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia, 6303 N. W. Marine Drive, Vancouver V6T 1Z1, BC, Canada

关键词: Capital interplays;    Capitals;    Education;    Self-rated health;    Switzerland;   

Others  :  1204152
DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-015-0167-x

 received in 2014-11-05, accepted in 2015-04-10,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Introduction

We apply capital interplay theory to health inequalities in Switzerland by investigating the interconnected effects of parental cultural, economic and social capitals and personal educational stream on the self-rated health of young Swiss men who live with their parents.

Methods

We apply logistic regression modelling to self-rated health in original cross-sectional survey data collected during mandatory conscription of Swiss male citizens in 2010 and 2011 (n = 23,975).

Results

In comparison with sons whose parents completed mandatory schooling only, sons with parents who completed technical college or university were significantly more likely to report very good or excellent self-rated health. Parental economic capital was an important mediating factor in this regard. Number of books in the home (parental cultural capital), family economic circumstances (parental economic capital) and parental ties to influential people (parental social capital) were also independently associated with the self-rated health of the sons. Although sons in the highest educational stream tended to report better health than those in the lowest, we found little evidence for a health-producing intergenerational transmission of capitals via the education stream of the sons. Finally, the positive association between personal education and self-rated health was stronger among sons with relatively poorly educated parents and stronger among sons with parents who were relatively low in social capital.

Conclusions

Our study provides empirical support for the role of capital interplays, social processes in which capitals interpenetrate or co-constitute one another, in the intergenerational production of the health of young men in Switzerland.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Veenstra and Abel; licensee BioMed Central.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Bourdieu P, Passeron J. Reproduction in education, society and culture. 2nd ed. Sage Publications, London; 1990.
• [2]Bourdieu P. Distinction. A social critique of the judgment of taste. Harvard University Press, Cambridge; 1984.
• [3]Bourdieu P. The forms of capital. In: Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. Richardson J, editor. Greenwood Press, New York; 1986: p.241-58. [1983]
• [4]Bourdieu P. Practical reason. On the theory of action. Stanford University Press, Stanford; 1998.
• [5]Braveman P, Cubbin C, Egerter S, Williams DR, Pamuk E. Socio-economic disparities in health in the United States: what the patterns tell us. Am J Public Health. 2010; 100:186-96.
• [6]Braveman P, Egerter S, Williams D. The social determinants of health: coming of age. Annu Rev Public Health. 2011; 32:381-98.
• [7]Matthews K, Gallo L. Psychological perspectives on pathways linking socio-economic status and physical health. Annu Rev Psychol. 2011; 62:501-30.
• [8]Adler N, Bush N, Pantell M. Rigor, vigor, and the study of health disparities. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012; 109:17154-9.
• [9]Konlaan B, Björby N, Bygren L, Weissglas G, Karlsson LG, Widmark M. Attendance at cultural events and physical exercise and health: a randomized controlled study. Public Health. 2000; 114:316-9.
• [10]Johansson S, Konlaan B, Bygren L. Sustaining habits of attending cultural events and maintenance of health: a longitudinal study. Health Promot Int. 2001; 16:229-34.
• [11]Khawaja M, Mowafi M. Cultural capital and self-rated health in low income women: evidence from the urban health study, Beirut, Lebanon. J Urban Health. 2006; 83:444-58.
• [12]Veenstra G. Social space, social class and Bourdieu: health inequalities in British Columbia, Canada. Health Place. 2007; 13:14-31.
• [13]Abel T, Fuhr D, Bisegger C, Ackermann Rau S. Money is not enough: exploring the impact of social and cultural resources on youth health. Scand J Public Health. 2011; 39:57-61.
• [14]Almedom A. Social capital and mental health: an interdisciplinary review of primary evidence. Soc Sci Med. 2005; 61:943-64.
• [15]Islam M, Merlo J, Kawachi I, Lindström M, Gerdtham UG. Social capital and health: does egalitarianism matter? A literature review. Int J Equity Health. 2008; 5:3. BioMed Central Full Text
• [16]Uphoff E, Pickett K, Cabieses B, Small N, Wright J. A systematic review of the relationships between social capital and socioeconomic inequalities in health: a contribution to understanding the psychosocial pathway of health inequalities. Int J Equity Health. 2013; 12:54. BioMed Central Full Text
• [17]Abel T. Cultural capital and social inequality in health. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2008; 62: Article ID e13
• [18]Abel T, Frohlich K. Capitals and capabilities: linking structure and agency to reduce health inequalities. Soc Sci Med. 2012; 74:236-44.
• [19]Veenstra G, Patterson A. Capital relations and health: mediating and moderating effects of cultural, economic, and social capitals on mortality in Alameda County, California. Int J Health Serv. 2012; 42:277-91.
• [20]Frohlich K, Abel T. Environmental justice and health practices: understanding how health inequities arise at the local level. Sociol Health Illn. 2014; 36:199-212.
• [21]Mensah F, Hobcraft J. Childhood deprivation, health and development: associations with adult health in the 1958 and 1970 British prospective birth cohort studies. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2008; 62:599-606.
• [22]Iversen A, Holsen I. Inequality in health, psychosocial resources and health behavior in early adolescence: the influence of different indicators of socioeconomic position. Child Indic Res. 2008; 1:291-302.
• [23]Evans M, Kelley J, Sikora J, Treiman DJ. Family scholarly culture and educational success: books and schooling in 27 nations. Res Soc Stratif Mobil. 2010; 28:171-97.
• [24]Westerlund H, Gustafsson P, Theorell T, Janlert U, Hammarström A. Parental academic involvement in adolescence, academic achievement over the life course and allostatic load in middle age: a prospective population-based cohort study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2013; 67:508-13.
• [25]Idler E, Benyamini Y. Self-rated health and mortality: a review of twenty-seven community studies. J Health Soc Beh. 1997; 38:21-37.
• [26]Burstrom B, Fredlund P. Self-rated health: Is it as good a predictor of subsequent mortality among adults in lower as well as in higher social classes? J Epidemiol Community Health. 2001; 55:836-40.
• [27]Kestilä L, Koskinen S, Martelin T, Rahkonen O, Pensola T, Pirkola S et al.. Influence of parental education, childhood adversities, and current living conditions on daily smoking in early adulthood. Eur J Public Health. 2006; 16:617-26.
• [28]Kvaavik E, Glymour M, Klepp K, Tell GS, Batty GD. Parental education as a predictor of offspring behavioural and physiological cardiovascular disease risk factors. Eur J Public Health. 2012; 22:544-50.
• [29]Sonego M, Llácer A, Galán I, Simón F. The influence of parental education on child mental health in Spain. Qual Life Res. 2013; 22:203-11.
• [30]Lundborg P, Nilsson A, Rooth D. Parental education and offspring outcomes: evidence from the Swedish compulsory School Reform. Am Econ J Appl Econ. 2014; 6:253-87.