Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community
Published on: May 31, 2019
Social capital or vulnerability: Which has the stronger connection with selected U.S. health outcomes?
Carolina M Borges1,2, John C Pollock1,3, Miranda Crowley3
1Department of Public Health, School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science, The College of New Jersey, 2000, Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ, USA.
Abstract:
We tested associations between social capital or vulnerability and health outcome measures of adult obesity, adult diabetes, and life expectancy at the county level in the United States with data from 2015 to 2018. This ecological cross-sectional study utilized secondary data from four open access databases: The Geography of Social Capital (U.S. Congress, 2018), County Health Rankings (2018), CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS, 2018) and the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF, 2015). Our dependent variables were adult obesity, adult diabetes, and life expectancy. We identified the highest and lowest states' prevalence for each of three health outcomes in each of the four U.S. regions-Northeast, South, Midwest, and West. Each dependent variable was assessed using a sample of 32 counties (N = 32). Data analysis consisted of bivariate and regression analysis. Our results showed that the most consistent measure of "vulnerability" linked significantly to all three health conditions studied was percent births to unmarried women (Obesity p < .001; Diabetes p = .049; Life Expectancy p = .019). The most consistent measure of "social capital" linked to all three health conditions was recreation establishments per 1,000 inhabitants (Obesity p = .006; Diabetes p = .005; Life Expectancy p = .018). We concluded that measures of vulnerability were strongly associated with obesity, diabetes, and life expectancy when compared with social capital indicators. However, measures of social capital consistently accounted for the second-greatest proportion of the variance. Social and community contexts should be constantly addressed by both public health governmental- and scholarly-research agendas in the United States.
Related Concept Videos
Factors Affecting Illness
For instance, risk factors are connected to illness,...
Impact of Social Context on Individuals
Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison
Relationship Formation
Social Relationships and Well-Being
Bias in Epidemiological Studies

