Department of Public Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185 blok A, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
BMC Public Health. 2013 Jan 23;13:65. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-65.
Although most countries in the European Union are richer and healthier than ever, health inequalities remain an important public health challenge. Health-related problems and premature death have disproportionately been reported in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Neighbourhood social capital is believed to influence the association between neighbourhood deprivation and health in children and adolescents, making it a potentially interesting concept for policymakers.
This study aims to review the role of social capital in health inequalities and the social gradient in health and well-being of children and adolescents. A systematic review of published quantitative literature was conducted, focussing on (1) the mediating role of neighbourhood social capital in the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and health-related outcomes in children and adolescents and (2) the interaction between neighbourhood social capital and socio-economic characteristics in relation to health-related outcomes in children and adolescents. Three electronic databases were searched. Studies executed between 1 January 1990 and 1 September 2011 in Western countries (USA, New Zealand, Australia and Europe) that included a health-related outcome in children or adolescents and a variable that measured neighbourhood social capital were included.
Eight studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. The findings are mixed. Only two of five studies confirmed that neighbourhood social capital mediates the association between neighbourhood deprivation and health and well-being in adolescents. Furthermore, two studies found a significant interaction between neighbourhood socio-economic factors and neighbourhood social capital, which indicates that neighbourhood social capital is especially beneficial for children who reside in deprived neighbourhoods. However, two other studies did not find a significant interaction between SES and neighbourhood social capital. Due to the broad range of studied health-related outcomes, the different operationalisations of neighbourhood social capital and the conceptual overlap between measures of SES and social capital in some studies, the factors that explain these differences in findings remain unclear.
Although the findings of this study should be interpreted with caution, the results suggest that neighbourhood social capital might play a role in the health gradient among children and adolescents. However, only two of the included studies were conducted in Europe. Furthermore, some studies focussed on specific populations and minority groups. To formulate relevant European policy recommendations, further European-focussed research on this issue is needed.
尽管欧盟大多数国家比以往任何时候都更加富裕和健康，但健康不平等仍然是一个重要的公共卫生挑战。在弱势社区，与健康相关的问题和过早死亡的报告比例过高。邻里社会资本被认为会影响邻里贫困与儿童和青少年健康之间的关联，使其成为政策制定者一个潜在的有趣概念。
本研究旨在综述社会资本在儿童和青少年健康不平等和健康福利方面的社会梯度中的作用。对已发表的定量文献进行了系统回顾，重点关注（1）邻里社会资本在社会经济地位（SES）与儿童和青少年健康相关结果之间的关系中的中介作用，以及（2）邻里社会资本与 SES 特征在儿童和青少年健康相关结果方面的相互作用。检索了三个电子数据库。纳入的研究为 1990 年 1 月 1 日至 2011 年 9 月 1 日期间在西方国家（美国、新西兰、澳大利亚和欧洲）进行的，且包含儿童或青少年健康相关结果和衡量邻里社会资本的变量的研究。
有八项研究符合综述的纳入标准。研究结果喜忧参半。仅有五分之二的研究证实，邻里社会资本在青少年邻里贫困与健康和福利之间的关系中起中介作用。此外，两项研究发现邻里社会经济因素与邻里社会资本之间存在显著的相互作用，这表明邻里社会资本对居住在贫困社区的儿童特别有益。然而，另外两项研究没有发现 SES 和邻里社会资本之间存在显著的相互作用。由于研究的健康相关结果范围广泛、邻里社会资本的不同运作方式以及一些研究中 SES 和社会资本衡量指标之间的概念重叠，因此，这些研究结果差异的解释因素仍不清楚。
尽管本研究的结果应谨慎解释，但结果表明，邻里社会资本可能在儿童和青少年的健康梯度中发挥作用。然而，纳入的研究中仅有两项在欧洲进行。此外，一些研究集中在特定人群和少数群体上。为了制定相关的欧洲政策建议，需要进一步在欧洲范围内开展这方面的研究。
