Elsevier

Social Science & Medicine

Volume 62, Issue 1, January 2006, Pages 165-175
Social Science & Medicine

Toward a neighborhood resource-based theory of social capital for health: Can Bourdieu and sociology help?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.05.020Get rights and content

Abstract

Within the past several years, a considerable body of research on social capital has emerged in public health. Although offering the potential for new insights into how community factors impact health and well being, this research has received criticism for being undertheorized and methodologically flawed. In an effort to address some of these limitations, this paper applies Pierre Bourdieu's (1986) [Bourdieu, P. (1986). Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). New York: Greenwood] social capital theory to create a conceptual model of neighborhood socioeconomic processes, social capital (resources inhered within social networks), and health. After briefly reviewing the social capital conceptualizations of Bourdieu and Putnam, I attempt to integrate these authors’ theories to better understand how social capital might operate within neighborhoods or local areas. Next, I describe a conceptual model that incorporates this theoretical integration of social capital into a framework of neighborhood social processes as health determinants. Discussion focuses on the utility of this Bourdieu-based neighborhood social capital theory and model for examining several under-addressed issues of social capital in the neighborhood effects literature and generating specific, empirically testable hypotheses for future research.

Introduction

Within the past several years, there has been a rapid emergence of research on social capital within the social epidemiological literature (e.g., Kawachi, Kennedy, & Glass, 1999; Lochner, Kawachi, & Kennedy, 1999; Lomas, 1998; Rose, 2000; Veenstra, 2000). Although offering potential for new insights regarding how socioeconomic factors impact health, particularly at the neighborhood or local area level, this research has also drawn significant criticism for theoretical and methodological shortcomings, leading some to question the relevance of such evidence to individual and population health (see Forbes & Wainwright, 2001; Hawe & Shiell, 2000; Macinko & Starfield, 2001; Muntaner, Lynch, & Davey Smith, 2001; Pearce & Smith, 2003).

In an effort to address these problems, researchers have called for studies that use more incisive theoretical formulations (e.g., Baum, 2000; Fassin, 2003; Muntaner & Lynch, 2002). Existing studies have almost exclusively relied upon Putnam (1993), Putnam (1995), Putnam (1996), Putnam (1998), Putnam (2000), Putnam (2001) conceptualization of social capital, which consists of features such as interpersonal trust, norms of reciprocity, and social engagement that foster community and social participation and can be used to impact a number of beneficial outcomes, including health.

Despite its popularity within public health and other disciplines, this conceptualization has received a variety of criticisms (e.g., DeFilippis, 2001; Muntaner & Lynch, 2002; Portes, 1998). Some have argued that conceptualizing social capital as such informal social relations limits its relevance for public health and understanding health inequalities (Lynch, Davey Smith, Kaplan, & House, 2000). I propose that it would be more useful to conceive of social capital in a more traditionally sociological fashion: as consisting of actual or potential resources that inhere within social networks or groups for personal benefit. When studying neighborhood or local area socioeconomic influences on health—an increasingly popular focus within public health (see Diez-Roux, 2001)—conceptualizing social capital in this way necessitates consideration of its integral link to the socioeconomic conditions of the places in which people live. Consequently, this makes it a more useful concept for public health and social epidemiology because it draws attention to material conditions and the policies that influence them. Concurrently, it helps extend neighborhood effects research on health, which, as argued by Morenoff (2003), tends to focus only on whether neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics are associated with the health outcome of interest, yet fails to consider more proximate mechanisms that may offer insights into why neighborhood environments are associated with health.

This conceptualization is consistent with the social capital theory of Pierre Bourdieu (1986), which emphasizes the collective resources of groups that can be drawn upon by individual group members for procuring benefits and services in the absence of, or in conjunction with, their own economic capital. Nevertheless, almost no health studies to date, whether focused on individuals, neighborhoods, or other levels of analysis, have used Bourdieu's conceptualization (Fassin, 2003), even though researchers have continued to make arguments for the value of his theory for studying health inequalities (e.g., Baum, 2000; Carpiano, 2004; Morrow, 1999; Muntaner & Lynch, 2002).

Despite the potential utility of Bourdieu's theory, introducing such a perspective into the social capital and health research agenda is not an easy endeavor. Like any other social science research, it requires construction of logical theoretical formulations from which hypotheses may be derived. In the following pages, I attempt such a task, drawing upon Bourdieu's theory and sociological research on community and urban processes to construct a Bourdieu-based conceptual model of neighborhood social capital for health in the interest of furthering social epidemiological and public health research focused not only on neighborhood effects, but social capital as well. This paper is not intended to be a comprehensive review of either Bourdieu's theory or community and urban sociology research, but rather a theory-building endeavor that is informed by this prior scholarship.

First, I critically review Putnam and Bourdieu's respective theories of social capital in an effort to better understand how social capital might operate, particularly within neighborhoods or local areas. Second, I detail a conceptual model, based on a framework informed by Portes (1998), which incorporates my theoretical integration of social capital into a broader theory of neighborhood social processes as health determinants. This model draws upon existing sociological research on urban, community, and social network processes to support its theoretic assertions. Finally, I discuss the potential utility of this model for generating hypotheses that can be empirically tested in future research and help progress our understanding of these issues.

Section snippets

Robert Putnam's social capital

Despite seminal scholarship on social capital by Bourdieu (as well as later work by James Coleman (1988), Coleman (1990)), political scientist Robert Putnam has been the most influential social capital theorist within public health and community development (DeFilippis, 2001; Fassin, 2003; Lochner et al., 1999; Macinko & Starfield, 2001). Putnam defines social capital as referring to “features of social organization, such as networks, norms, and social trust, that facilitate coordination and

Bourdieu and Putnam: A comparison of approaches and an attempt at resolving discrepancies

When compared, Putnam and Bourdieu's respective theories of social capital diverge at numerous points. One of the most obvious divergences is apparent in the constitutive elements of their respective theories. While Putnam's theory is explicitly centered on geographic locales such as neighborhoods and even larger communities, Bourdieu's is less geographically rooted, but nevertheless quite applicable to such locations (and is even mentioned in his examples). However, his theory is intended to

The study model

The conceptual model is shown in Fig. 1.

Theoretical implications

With the model now detailed, it is important to discuss the implications of such a conceptualization for different theoretical points of view and furthering understanding of neighborhood social capital as a potential health determinant.

Empirical testing

In order for this model to be useful, it must be empirically testable. One current evaluation (see Carpiano, 2004) involves multilevel analysis of a dataset with a neighborhood clustered sampling design: structural antecedents are captured with area census indicators; social cohesion and social capital forms are measured using neighborhood-level mean scores of respondents’ appraisals of the neighborhood social environment; and individual neighborhood attachment is measured with several items

Conclusion

From a theoretical standpoint, health research on social capital has had two crosses to bear. While it has been criticized for conceptual flaws in understanding the possible role of social capital for shaping health inequalities, more fundamentally, it has relied almost exclusively on a widely criticized theory of social capital—that of Robert Putnam. Applications of alternative social capital theories have been virtually absent. In line with the suggestions of critics interested in overcoming

Acknowledgments

Richard Carpiano authored this manuscript while completing a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholar Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He wishes to thank Bruce Link (who served as sponsor for the dissertation project from which this paper was developed), Dorothy Daley, Eugene Litwak, Peter Messeri, John Logan, Jo Phelan, Stephanie Robert, and Sharon Schwartz for their numerous helpful comments that informed this paper and/or the larger project

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