J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.  2024 Feb;63(1):32-37. 10.4306/jknpa.2024.63.1.32.

Social Capital as an Intervention for Depression in the Community

• Yun JA
• Kim JH
• Yu JA
• Yu JC
• Choi KS

• KMID: 2553666
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2024.63.1.32

Abstract

Social capital, defined as an individual’s social relationships and participation in community networks, encompasses resources, such as the exchange of favors, maintenance of group norms, stocks of trust, and exercise of sanctions available to members of social groups. Social capital may lower the risk of mental disorders while increasing the resilience capacity, adaptation, and recovery. Interventions targeting social capital may offer a cost-effective approach to preventing and ameliorating these conditions. This study evaluated the concept and importance of social capital because mental well-being is influenced by individual characteristics, the socioeconomic situation, and broader environmental factors to which individuals are exposed. Recognizing the growing significance of social capital in this context, the study examined its role, its relationship with depression, and the potential importance of social capital in South Korea. Although the definition of social capital is broad, the emphasis is placed on the role of linking social capital. Moving beyond an individual-centric perspective on identifying the factors contributing to depression, this paper suggests that social capital can serve as a crucial starting point for changing the environment to which individuals belong, i.e., structural and intermediary determinants. In the macrolevel perspective of mental health intervention, this paper proposes the need to attribute significance and awareness to numerous studies already implemented in various local communities through social capital.

Keyword

Social capital; Depression; Community; Social support