Development and Validation of a Health-Related Social Capital Instrument for Older People

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Sociology

Background:

• Health-related social capital, derived from social networks, significantly impacts health behaviors and outcomes, particularly in older adults.
• Existing social capital scales lack specificity for measuring health-related resources in the aging population.
• Limited instruments are available to capture the unique aspects of social capital pertinent to older adults' health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a culturally relevant health-related social capital scale tailored for older adults.
• To establish a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing social resources influencing health in the elderly.
• To provide a tool for researchers and practitioners to evaluate social capital's role in geriatric health.

Main Methods:

• A multi-stage approach including literature review, expert consultation, and focus groups generated an initial item pool.
• A cross-sectional web-based study with 473 participants in China employed Classical Test Theory (CTT), including EFA and CFA, for scale refinement.
• Rigorous statistical analyses assessed reliability (Cronbach's α, McDonald's ω, CR) and validity (content, construct, convergent, discriminant, external).

Main Results:

• The final 12-item scale comprises four dimensions: social network, participation, trust, and support, demonstrating strong reliability (all >0.7).
• Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed the four-factor structure, explaining 60.215% of the variance.
• The scale exhibited excellent content validity (I-CVI: 0.923–1.00), good convergent validity (AVE: 0.538–0.629), acceptable discriminant validity (HTMT: 0.174–0.397), and supported external validity.

Conclusions:

• The developed 12-item scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing health-related social capital in older adults.
• The scale's theoretical dimensions are designed for cross-cultural relevance, though initial validation was in a Chinese sample.
• Further research is recommended to test and adapt the scale across diverse cultural and geographical contexts.