Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Mental health impact of social capital interventions: a systematic review

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Mental disorders are a major contributor to the global burden of disease and disability, and can be extremely costly at both individual and community level. Social capital, (SC) defined as an individual’s social relationships and participation in community networks, may lower the risk of mental disorders while increasing resilience capacity, adaptation and recovery. SC interventions may be a cost-effective way of preventing and ameliorating these conditions. However, the impact of these SC interventions on mental health still needs research.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review of SC-based interventions to investigate their effect on mental health outcomes from controlled, quasi-experimental studies or pilot trials. We searched twelve academic databases, three clinical trials registries, hand-searched references and contacted field experts. Studies’ quality was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias tools for randomized and non-randomized studies.

Results

Seven studies were included in the review, published between 2006 and 2016. There was substantial heterogeneity in the definitions of both SC and mental disorders among the studies, preventing us from calculating pooled effect sizes. The interventions included community engagement and educative programs, cognitive processing therapy and sociotherapy for trauma survivors, and neighbourhood projects.

Conclusions

There are paucity of SC interventions investigating the effect on mental health outcomes. This study showed that both SC scores and mental health outcomes improved over time but there was little evidence of benefit compared to control groups in the long term. Further high-quality trials are needed, especially among adverse populations to assess sustainability of effect.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Vos T, Barber RM, Bell B et al (2015) Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2013. Lancet 386(9995):743–800. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60692-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Whiteford HA, Ferrari AJ, Degenhardt L, Feigin V, Vos T (2015) The global burden of mental, neurological and substance use disorders: an analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. PLoS One 10(2):e0116820. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0116820

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Insel TR (2008) Assessing the economic costs of serious mental illness. Am J Psychiatry 165(6):663–665. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2008.08030366 doi

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Leon AC, Solomon DA, Mueller TI, Endicott J, Rice JP, Maser JD, Coryell W, Keller MB (2005) A 20-year longitudinal observational study of somatic antidepressant treatment effectiveness. Focus 3(1):106–113. https://doi.org/10.1176/foc.3.1.106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Naylor CPM, McDaid D, Knapp M, Fossey M, Galea A (2012) Long-term conditions and mental health. The cost of co-morbidities The King’s Fund and Centre for Mental Health London, UK

  6. Morgan C, Burns T, Fitzpatrick R, Pinfold V, Priebe S (2007) Social exclusion and mental health. Concept Methodol Rev 191(6):477–483. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.106.034942

    Google Scholar 

  7. Lund C, De Silva M, Plagerson S, Cooper S, Chisholm D, Das J, Knapp M, Patel V (2011) Poverty and mental disorders: breaking the cycle in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet 378(9801):1502–1514. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60754-X

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Kawachi I (2001) Social capital for health and human development. Development 44(1):31–35. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.development.1110211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Putnam R (1995) Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. J Democr 6:64–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Henderson S, Whiteford H (2003) Social capital and mental health. Lancet 362(9383):505–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14150-5

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Grootaert C, Narayan D, Nyhan V, Woolcock M (2004) Measuring social capital: an integrated questionnaire. World Bank Working Paper N. 18. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, Washington, DC

  12. Kawachi I, Subramanian SV, Kim D (2008) Social capital and health. In: Kawachi I, Subramanian SV, Kim D (eds) Social capital and health. Springer, New York, pp 1–26

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  13. Ehsan AM, De Silva MJ (2015) Social capital and common mental disorder: a systematic review. J Epidemiol Community Health 69(10):1021–1028 (Electronic)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. McKenzie K, Harpham T (2006) Social capital and mental health. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London

    Google Scholar 

  15. Campbell C, Cornish F, McLean C (2004) Social capital, participation and the perpetuation of health inequalities: obstacles to African-Caribbean participation in ‘partnerships’ to improve mental health. Ethn Health 9(4):313–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/1355785042000250120

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Jetten J, Haslam C, Haslam SA (2012) The social cure: identity, health and well-being. Psychology Press, UK

    Google Scholar 

  17. Sixsmith J, Boneham M (2007) Health, well-being and social capital. In: Well-being: individual, community and social perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, London

  18. Haslam SA, Jetten J, Postmes T, Haslam C (2009) Social identity, health and well-being: an emerging agenda for applied psychology. Appl Psychol 58(1):1–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00379.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Cruwys T, Dingle GA, Haslam C, Haslam SA, Jetten J, Morton TA (2013) Social group memberships protect against future depression, alleviate depression symptoms and prevent depression relapse. Soc Sci Med 98:179–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.013

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Tajfel HaT JC (1985) The social identity theory of intergroup behaviour. In: Worchel SaA WG (eds) Psychology of intergroup relations. Nelson hall series in psychology, 2nd edn. Nelson-Hall Publishers, Chicago, pp 7–24

  21. Brewer MB (1991) The social self: on being the same and different at the same time. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 17(5):475–482. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167291175001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Nyqvist F, Pape B, Pellfolk T, Forsman AK, Wahlbeck K (2014) Structural and cognitive aspects of social capital and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of cohort studies. Soc Indic Res 116(2):545–566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0288-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Campbell C (2011) Embracing complexity: towards more nuanced understandings of social capital and health. Glob Health Action. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v4i0.5964

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Mendolia S, Patulny R, Siminski P (2015) The front line of social capital creation—a natural experiment in symbolic interaction. Soc Sci Med 125:8–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.04.026

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Blair A, Ross NA, Gariepy G, Schmitz N (2014) How do neighborhoods affect depression outcomes? A realist review and a call for the examination of causal pathways. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 49(6):873–887. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-013-0810-z

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Cook IG, Halsall J, Wankhade P (2015) Sociability, social capital, and community development: a public health perspective, 1 edn. Springer, Switzerland

    Google Scholar 

  27. De Silva MJ, McKenzie K, Harpham T, Huttly SR (2005) Social capital and mental illness: a systematic review. J Epidemiol Community Health 59(8):619–627. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2004.029678

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. McKenzie K (2008) Urbanization, social capital and mental health. Global Soc Policy 8(3):359–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Calvo R, Zheng Y, Kumar S, Olgiati A, Berkman L (2012) Well-being and social capital on planet earth: cross-national evidence from 142 countries. Plos One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042793

    Google Scholar 

  30. Subramanian SV, Kim D, Kawachi I (2005) Covariation in the socioeconomic determinants of self rated health and happiness: a multivariate multilevel analysis of individuals and communities in the USA. J Epidemiol Community Health 59(8):664–669. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2004.025742

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Brune NE, Bossert T (2009) Building social capital in post-conflict communities: evidence from Nicaragua. Soc Sci Med 68(5):885–893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.12.024

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Glass TA, Freedman M, Carlson MC, Hill J, Frick KD, Ialongo N, McGill S, Rebok GW, Seeman T, Tielsch JM, Wasik BA, Zeger S, Fried LP (2004) Experience corps: design of an intergenerational program to boost social capital and promote the health of an aging society. J Urban Health 81(1):94–105. https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jth096

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  33. Pronyk PM, Harpham T, Busza J, Phetla G, Morison LA, Hargreaves JR, Kim JC, Watts CH, Porter JD (2008) Can social capital be intentionally generated? a randomized trial from rural South Africa. Soc Sci Med 67(10):1559–1570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.07.022

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Farquhar SA, Michael YL, Wiggins N (2005) Building on leadership and social capital to create change in 2 urban communities. Am J Public Health 95(4):596–601. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2004.048280

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Snoxell S, Harpham T, Grant E, Rodriguez C (2006) Social capital interventions: a case study from Cali, Colombia. Can J Dev Stud/Revue canadienne d’études du développement 27(1):65–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/02255189.2006.9669121

    Google Scholar 

  36. De Silva MJ, Huttly SR, Harpham T, Kenward MG (2007) Social capital and mental health: a comparative analysis of four low income countries. Soc Sci Med 64(1):5–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.08.044

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Flores EC, Carnero AM, Bayer AM (2014) Social capital and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder among survivors of the 2007 earthquake in Pisco. Peru Soc Sci Med 101:9–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.11.012

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Le F, Tracy M, Norris FH, Galea S (2013) Displacement, county social cohesion, and depression after a large-scale traumatic event. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 48(11):1729–1741. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-013-0698-7

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  39. Patel V, Minas H, Cohen A, Prince M (2014) Global mental health: principles and practice. Oxford University Press, NY

    Google Scholar 

  40. Domínguez S, Arford T (2010) It is all about who you know: social capital and health in low-income communities. Health Sociol Rev 19(1):114–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Im H, Rosenberg R (2016) Building social capital through a peer-led community health workshop: a pilot with the Bhutanese Refugee Community. J Community Health 41(3):509–517. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-015-0124-z

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Mar López Marrero Td (2009) The capacity for adaption to natural hazards from a social-communitarian perspective (La capacidad de adaptación a peligros naturales desde una perspectiva social-comunitaria). Revista de ciencias sociales 20:104–127

    Google Scholar 

  43. Stain HJ, Kelly B, Carr VJ, Lewin TJ, Fitzgerald M, Fragar L (2011) The psychological impact of chronic environmental adversity: responding to prolonged drought. Soc Sci Med 73(11):1593–1599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.09.016

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Wind TR, Komproe IH (2012) The mechanisms that associate community social capital with post-disaster mental health: a multilevel model. Soc Sci Med 75(9):1715–1720 (Erratum appears in Soc Sci Med. 2014 Jun 110:64)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Xin H, Aronson RE, Lovelace KA, Strack RW, Villalba JA (2013) Resilience of Vietnamese refugees: resources to cope with natural disasters in their resettled country. Disaster Med Public Health Prep 7(4):387–394. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2013.44

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Caldwell K, Boyd CP (2009) Coping and resilience in farming families affected by drought. Rural Remote Health 9(2):1088

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Pelling M, High C (2005) Understanding adaptation: what can social capital offer assessments of adaptive capacity? Glob Environ Change 15(4):308–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2005.02.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Adger WN (2003) Social capital, collective action, and adaptation to climate change. Econ Geogr 79(4):387–404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. West JS, Price M, Gros KS, Ruggiero KJ (2013) Community support as a moderator of postdisaster mental health symptoms in urban and nonurban communities. Disaster Med Public Health Prep 7(5):443–451

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  50. Koh H, Cadigan R (2008) Disaster preparedness and social capital. In: Ichiro Kawachi SVS, Daniel Kim (eds) Social capital and health. Springer, New York, pp 273–285

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  51. Cox RS, Perry KM (2011) Like a fish out of water: reconsidering disaster recovery and the role of place and social capital in community disaster resilience. Am J Community Psychol 48(3–4):395–411

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Jones N, Koukoulas S, Clark JRA et al (2014) Social capital and citizen perceptions of coastal management for tackling climate change impacts in Greece. Reg Environ Change 14:1083. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-013-0540-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Henderson TL, Hildreth G (2011) Experiences in the face of disasters: children, teachers, older adults, and families. J Fam Issues 32(10):1277–1284. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513x11412488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Lowe SR, Chan CS, Rhodes JE (2010) Pre-hurricane perceived social support protects against psychological distress: a longitudinal analysis of low-income mothers. J Consult Clin Psychol 78(4):551–560. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018317

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  55. Avdeenko A, Gilligan M (2014) International interventions to build social capital. Evidence from a field experiment in Sudan. Policy Research Working Paper 6772. The World Bank Africa Region Social Protection Unit & Development Research group

  56. de Souza EM, Grundy E (2007) Intergenerational interaction, social capital and health: results from a randomised controlled trial in Brazil. Soc Sci Med 65(7):1397–1409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.05.022

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Nyqvist F, Forsman AK, Giuntoli G, Cattan M (2013) Social capital as a resource for mental well-being in older people: a systematic review. Aging Mental Health 17(4):394–410. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2012.742490

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Coll-Planas L, Nyqvist F, Puig T, Urrutia G, Sola I, Monteserin R (2017) Social capital interventions targeting older people and their impact on health: a systematic review. J Epidemiol Community Health 71(7):663–672. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2016-208131

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Moher D, Shamseer L, Clarke M, Ghersi D, Liberati A, Petticrew M, Shekelle P, Stewart LA, Group P-P (2015) Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement. Syst Rev 4:1. https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-4053-4-1

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  60. World Health Organization (1992) The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders: clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. World Health Organization, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  61. American Psychiatric Association (2013) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. American Psychiatric Association, Washington

    Book  Google Scholar 

  62. Higgins JPT, Altman DG, Gøtzsche PC, Jüni P, Moher D, Oxman AD (2011) The Cochrane collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d5928

    Google Scholar 

  63. Sterne JACHJ, Reeves BC, On behalf of the development group for ACROBAT-NRSI (2014) A cochrane risk of bias assessment tool: for non-randomized studies of interventions (ACROBAT-NRSI), Version 1.0.0., 24 Sep 2014

  64. Verduin F, Smid GE, Wind TR, Scholte WF (2014) In search of links between social capital, mental health and sociotherapy: a longitudinal study in Rwanda. Soc Sci Med 121:1–9

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Phillips G, Bottomley C, Schmidt E, Tobi P, Lais S, Yu G, Lynch R, Lock K, Draper A, Moore D, Clow A, Petticrew M, Hayes R, Renton A (2014) Well London Phase-1: results among adults of a cluster-randomised trial of a community engagement approach to improving health behaviours and mental well-being in deprived inner-city neighbourhoods. J Epidemiol Community Health 68(7):606–614. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2013-202505

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  66. Haslam C, Cruwys T, Haslam SA, Dingle G, Chang MX-L (2016) GROUPS 4 HEALTH: evidence that a social-identity intervention that builds and strengthens social group membership improves mental health. J Affect Disord 194:188–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.01.010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  67. Saito T, Kai I, Takizawa A (2012) Effects of a program to prevent social isolation on loneliness, depression, and subjective well-being of older adults: a randomized trial among older migrants in Japan. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 55(3):539–547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2012.04.002

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  68. Sun J, Buys N (2016) Effects of community singing program on mental health outcomes of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: a meditative approach. Am J Health Promotion 30(4):259–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. Hall BJ, Bolton PA, Annan J, Kaysen D, Robinette K, Cetinoglu T, Wachter K, Bass JK (2014) The effect of cognitive therapy on structural social capital: results from a randomized controlled trial among sexual violence survivors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Am J Public Health 104(9):1680–1686

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  70. Semenza JC, March TL, Bontempo BD (2007) Community-initiated urban development: an ecological intervention. J Urban Health Bull NY Acad Med 84(1):8–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-006-9124-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Graeff P (2008) Social capital: the dark side. In: Castiglione D, van Deth JW, Wolleb G (eds) The handbook of social capital. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  72. Harpham T, Grant E, Rodriguez C (2004) Mental health and social capital in Cali, Colombia. Soc Sci Med 58(11):2267–2277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2003.08.013

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  73. Mitchell CU, LaGory M (2002) Social capital and mental distress in an impoverished community. City Community 1(2):199–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-6040.00017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Wolf J, Adger WN, Lorenzoni I, Abrahamson V, Raine R (2010) Social capital, individual responses to heat waves and climate change adaptation: an empirical study of two UK cities. Glob Environ Change 20:44–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  75. Almedom AM (2005) Social capital and mental health: an interdisciplinary review of primary evidence. Soc Sci Med 61(5):943–964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.12.025

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  76. Kawachi I, Berkman LF (2001) Social ties and mental health. J Urban Health 78(3):458–467. https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/78.3.458

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks to Dr. Tatiana Salisbury, Deirdre Beecher, Dr. Kiran Nanchahal and Ms. Jane Falconer for their support in the protocol development. Also, ECF would like to acknowledge the funding received by the training grant 2D43 TW007393-06 awarded to AGL by the Fogarty International Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elaine C. Flores.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (PDF 252 KB)

Supplementary material 2 (PDF 92 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Flores, E.C., Fuhr, D.C., Bayer, A.M. et al. Mental health impact of social capital interventions: a systematic review. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 53, 107–119 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1469-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1469-7

Keywords

Navigation