Relationships are important for physical health and psychosocial wellbeing. Social cohesion refers to the strength of relationships and the sense of solidarity among members of a community. One indicator of social cohesion is the amount of social capital a community has. Social capital deals with shared group resources, helping each other, and thinking beyond oneself.
Individuals have access to social capital through their social networks, which are webs of social relationships. Social networks are sources of multiple forms of social support, such as emotional support (encouragement after a setback, for example) and instrumental support (for example, a ride to a doctor’s appointment).
Social cohesion has positive and negative health effects on an individual’s life.
Social capital is an important marker of social cohesion, and it has significant ramifications for health. One can see this if it is measured.
Social capital can be measured in the following four ways:
1: Perceived fairness and perceived helpfulness.
2: Group membership and trust.
3: Income inequality.
4. Mortality.
Working for the good of all – an aspect of social capital and social cohesion – is grounded on mutual trust and describes a community’s ability to create change and exercise informal social control. Social groups influence behaviour through social norms. When people have a sense of belonging and trust, they experience better health, lower rates of neighbourhood violence, and better access to health-enhancing resources like medical care, healthy food options, and places to exercise.
Social institutions like religion, neighbourhood groups and the family are common sources of social capital and social control, as well as social networks and social support.
Social networks spread social capital, but they can also spread health behaviours and outcomes – a phenomenon known as “social contagion.” For example, if an individual’s friend, sibling, or spouse is obese, the individual’s likelihood of also becoming obese increases. Similar patterns are seen for smoking and drinking behaviours.
High levels of social support can positively influence health outcomes through behavioural and psychological pathways. For example, social support may help people stick to healthier diets and reduce emotional stress. Both of these pathways can affect biological functioning in the cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immune systems. Social support can therefore both directly benefit people and indirectly buffer them from risk factors that might otherwise damage health.
Social isolation is usually detrimental to health and increases mortality. Social isolation is a special concern for older adults, as contact with friends decreases with age. Older individuals in long-term care facilities or with conditions that interfere with daily activities, like arthritis, or who do not have access to transportation, may suffer from loneliness and a lack of social cohesion, which may negatively impact health.
Similarly, during natural disasters or extreme events like heat waves, elderly and poor individuals living in neighbourhoods with low social cohesion may lack social support from concerned neighbours who will check on them, and they have fewer safe communal areas where they can seek refuge.
Strong social cohesion has a direct and positive impact on health and wellbeing. It requires individuals to think of others and to see themselves as part of something bigger than themselves (e.g., family, group, neighbourhood) and require cross-sector collaborations (e.g., education, public health, housing) to foster community building and improve health.
With this column, the Think To DO Institute publishes short pieces related to the facts and results of its research reports so that readers can learn more about the vulnerability of their country. For more information about the Think To DO Institute, visit our website: www.thinktodoinstitute.com; contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
