Perceptions of community, social capital, and how they affect self-reported health: a multilevel analysis

- Social capital's relationship to self-reported health was analyzed using multilevel models.
- Higher levels of social trust were related to higher self-reported health.
- Higher informal social interaction and involvement in community organizations were related to higher self-reported health.
- Higher diversity of friendship was related to higher self-reported health.
- Community level socio-economic characteristics did not have an impact on individual self-reported health.

ObjectivesThe link between social capital and self-reported health has been widely explored. On the other hand, we know less about the relationship between social capital, community socioeconomic characteristics, and non-social capital-related individual differences, and about their impact on self-reported health in community settings.MethodsCross-sectional study design with a proportional sample of 7965 individuals from 20 US communities were analyzed using multilevel linear regression models, where individuals were nested within communities. The response rates ranged from 13.5% to 25.4%.ResultsFindings suggest that perceptions of the community and individual level socioeconomic characteristics were stronger predictors of self-reported health than were social capital or community socioeconomic characteristics.ConclusionsPolicy initiatives aimed at increasing social capital should first assess community member's perceptions of their communities to uncover potential assets to help increase social capital.