Nicholas Biddle1. 1. Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To provide the first estimates of a comprehensive measure of social capital for the Indigenous population and to link the indicators to well-being. DESIGN: Observational study-based. SETTING: Household survey. PARTICIPANTS: Nationally representative sample of 7823 Indigenous Australians aged 15 years and over who were usual residents of private dwellings. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Whether or not the respondent felt happy in the last 4 weeks all or most of the time (happiness), and whether or not they felt so sad that nothing could cheer them up at least a little bit of the time over the same period (sadness). RESULTS: There were no consistent differences in social capital measures between Indigenous men and women, nor were there consistent differences between the remote and non-remote population. High levels of social capital were, however, associated with higher subjective well-being. CONCLUSION: Social capital is both an indicator and determinant of well-being. It was possible to derive an index of social capital for Indigenous Australians that had a strong positive association with self-reported happiness and a negative association with self-reported sadness. However, the analysis also showed that there are a set of related domains of social capital, rather than there being a single underlying concept.
OBJECTIVE: To provide the first estimates of a comprehensive measure of social capital for the Indigenous population and to link the indicators to well-being. DESIGN: Observational study-based. SETTING: Household survey. PARTICIPANTS: Nationally representative sample of 7823 Indigenous Australians aged 15 years and over who were usual residents of private dwellings. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Whether or not the respondent felt happy in the last 4 weeks all or most of the time (happiness), and whether or not they felt so sad that nothing could cheer them up at least a little bit of the time over the same period (sadness). RESULTS: There were no consistent differences in social capital measures between Indigenous men and women, nor were there consistent differences between the remote and non-remote population. High levels of social capital were, however, associated with higher subjective well-being. CONCLUSION: Social capital is both an indicator and determinant of well-being. It was possible to derive an index of social capital for Indigenous Australians that had a strong positive association with self-reported happiness and a negative association with self-reported sadness. However, the analysis also showed that there are a set of related domains of social capital, rather than there being a single underlying concept.
Authors: Jessie J Goldsmith; Patricia T Campbell; Juan Pablo Villanueva-Cabezas; Rebecca H Chisholm; Melita McKinnon; George G Gurruwiwi; Roslyn G Dhurrkay; Alfred M Dockery; Nicholas Geard; Steven Y C Tong; Jodie McVernon; Katherine B Gibney Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-09-22 Impact factor: 4.614