The association of social capital with depression and quality of life in school-aged children

The relationship between neighborhood social capital and health from a biopsychosocial perspective: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

The Social Determinants of Health (SDH) influence the health of people throughout their lives, and can be positive, protective or risk factors for the population and, in turn, biological, psychological, or social. The social environment conditions the health status of the neighborhood, population, and social group, which can be a health asset due to its strong psychosocial and socio-cultural influence. Social capital is a community asset of the healthy neighborhood that must be known in order to promote community health.

OBJECTIVES

The objective is to determine the relationship between social capital and neighborhood biopsychosocial health.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted based on PRISMA: PubMed, Wos, Scopus, Embase, and Cochrane databases. The search was conducted from January to March 2023. Three authors independently extracted data using a structured form.

RESULTS

Out of 527 records, 17 results passed the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The positive and statistically significant relationship between neighborhood social capital (NSC) and the physical and mental health of neighbors is confirmed, that is, the higher the NSC, the more exercise, better oral health in children and physical health in pregnant women, lower tobacco consumption and lower prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus. At the psychological level, greater NSC leads to better mental health, mental well-being, life satisfaction, quality of life, self-perceived health, higher cognitive function, and less depression.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, social capital is an important SDH and health asset that influences neighborhood biopsychosocial health and should be known and researched for health promotion in community settings. More evidence is needed to support the results obtained.

Resilience in development: Neighborhood context, experiences of discrimination, and children's mental health

An understanding of child psychopathology and resilience requires attention to the nested and interconnected systems and contexts that shape children's experiences and health outcomes. In this study, we draw on data from the National Survey of Children's Health, 2016 to 2021 (n = 182,375 children, ages 3- to 17 years) to examine associations between community social capital and neighborhood resources and children's internalizing and externalizing problems, and whether these associations were moderated by experiences of racial discrimination. Study outcomes were caregiver-report of current internalizing and externalizing problems. Using logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics of the child and household, higher levels of community social capital were associated with a lower risk of children's depression, anxiety, and behaviors. Notably, we observed similar associations between neighborhood resources and child mental health for depression only. In models stratified by the child's experience of racial/ethnic discrimination, the protective benefits of community social capital were specific to those children who did not experience racial discrimination. Our results illustrate heterogeneous associations between community social capital and children's mental health that differ based on interpersonal experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination, illustrating the importance of a multilevel framework to promote child wellbeing.

School Social Capital Mediates Associations Between ASD Traits and Depression Among Adolescents in General Population

Though autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits are associated with depression, it is unclear if school social capital mediates their association. We examined whether school social capital mediates the association between ASD traits and depression, and moderation effect of sex on the mediation effect among adolescents in a general population sample (1750 males, 1779 females; equivalent 12-15 years old). The results of this study indicate that ASD traits are associated with depression among adolescents, and that this association is partly mediated by school social capital. Furthermore, the results of the moderated mediation analysis suggest that lower level of school social capital can lead to more increase level of depression for females than for males.

Implementation of online classes during national school closure due to COVID-19 and mental health symptoms of adolescents: A cross-sectional survey of 5000 students

Aim

Online classes were implemented in numerous schools during the school closure due to COVID-19. The present study examined the relationship between online classes during national school closure and mental health symptoms after the reopening of schools.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey from October 1 to November 7, 2020 using an anonymous self-reported questionnaire to evaluate 21 junior and senior high schools in the Saitama prefecture of Japan. Out of the 5538 students who were recruited, 5000 agreed to participate. The relationship between the implementation of online classes and mental health symptoms (emotional symptoms, psychotic experience [PE], and smartphone addiction) was evaluated using mixed-effect logistic regression models, while controlling for individual and class-level covariates (e.g., gender, grades).

Results

Implementation of online classes was reported by 78.2% of classroom teachers, and it was associated with lower rates of emotional symptoms (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.63-0.99, p = 0.040) and smartphone addiction (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.65-0.96, p = 0.020), but not related to PE (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.61-1.36, p = 0.637).

Conclusions

Implementing online classes during the national school closure might have had a potential protective effect for adolescents' mental health symptoms (especially emotional symptoms and smartphone addiction) after the reopening of schools during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.