Unsocial capital and self-rated health: contrasts between Latinos and non-Hispanic Whites.

A considerable body of literature has established a link between social capital and health. Although this research area has grown, very little of it has focused on the Latino population. Additionally, very few studies have examined whether investing resources in social capital should supersede investing in resources that create traditional forms of capital. Through structural equation modeling, this investigation focused on establishing a contextual investigation of social capital and health as it pertains to Latinos and non-Hispanic Whites. Utilizing nationally representative data from the 2000 Community Benchmark Survey, results show that although facets of social capital were significant for both groups, they were not as strong in promoting better health as other characteristics. In fact, only social trust was significantly associated with better health.