Fan Qianqian
Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States.
Front Sociol. 2025 May 21;10:1557463. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2025.1557463. eCollection 2025.
Drawing on multicultural theory, social capital theory, and sustainability theory, this paper explores social sustainability in a multicultural context. A two-stage research design was employed, consisting of a systematic literature review and interview-based text analysis. In the first stage, 210 papers were systematically reviewed. By extracting conceptual elements, new constructs of micro-level social inclusion, individual social capital, and individual social sustainability were defined. A preliminary social sustainability model-encompassing social inclusion, social capital, and social sustainability-was proposed. Relationship-focused research addressed gaps in existing literature, revealing interactions among these constructs and spurring refinements to the preliminary model. In the second stage, 130 short interview videos (totaling 173 participants) were analyzed. Empirical evidence from these interviews confirms that micro-level social inclusion and individual social capital positively affect social sustainability. The results of this paper are derived from a systematic study of the literature, and the results are verified by the conclusion of interview text analysis. This paper presents an innovative viewpoint by foregrounding micro-level social inclusion and individual social capital in daily life as drivers of social sustainability. Findings demonstrate that micro-level social inclusion fosters individual social capital, which, in turn, is a potent force behind social sustainability. The study thus offers a new research agenda, expands the field of individual social capital research, and provides practical and policy insights for further research and implementation.
本文借鉴多元文化理论、社会资本理论和可持续性理论，探讨多元文化背景下的社会可持续性。采用了两阶段研究设计，包括系统的文献综述和基于访谈的文本分析。在第一阶段，对210篇论文进行了系统综述。通过提取概念要素，定义了微观层面社会包容、个体社会资本和个体社会可持续性的新结构。提出了一个初步的社会可持续性模型，该模型涵盖社会包容、社会资本和社会可持续性。以关系为重点的研究解决了现有文献中的空白，揭示了这些结构之间的相互作用，并促使对初步模型进行完善。在第二阶段，分析了130个简短的访谈视频（共有173名参与者）。这些访谈的实证证据证实，微观层面的社会包容和个体社会资本对社会可持续性有积极影响。本文的结果来自对文献的系统研究，结果通过访谈文本分析的结论得到验证。本文通过将日常生活中的微观层面社会包容和个体社会资本作为社会可持续性的驱动因素，提出了一个创新观点。研究结果表明，微观层面的社会包容促进个体社会资本，而个体社会资本反过来又是社会可持续性背后的一股强大力量。因此，该研究提供了一个新的研究议程，扩展了个体社会资本研究领域，并为进一步的研究和实施提供了实践和政策见解。
