Sense of Community and Self-Rated Health: Mediating Effect of Social Capital

Cheng-Neng Lai^*

Department of Public Relations and Advertising, Shih Hsin University, Taipei city.

DOI: 10.4236/sm.2013.33029                

Abstract

Individuals expect to get better well-being through the community; however the formation of causal relations is rarely mentioned. This study was conducted to test a model by examining the relationship between Sense of Community and Self-rated Health, and took Social Capital as the mediating variable. Social Capital was divided into two variables: Trust and Interaction. The method of Structural Equation Modeling was used for evaluation. The result of the analysis verified the Sense of Community’s cause-effect relationship on Self-rated Health, and the mediation effect of Social Capital existed between them. The contribution of this research is to prove a positive health promotion path which is accepted by members of a community. The collective attributes of the elements of social capital, including trust and interaction in a neighborhood network are the focus.

Keywords

Sense of Community; Social Capital; Self-Rated Health; Trust; Interaction

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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