社会资本与晚年健康--老年人健康不平等的实证研究

Social Capital and Health in Later Life:An Empirical Study of Health Disparities among the Elderly

利用2008年全国综合社会调查数据,对老年人群健康不平等的社会经济因素进行回归分析,目的在于检验社会资本的积累对老年人健康的影响。分析结果显示扩展的家庭网络、生命历程中工作变换的频率、自评所属社会阶级和自评家庭所处经济地位对晚年健康有着显著的影响。前两个影响因素作为个人社会资本的测量带有明显的转型中国社会特征,因而对它们与老年人健康之间关系的理解需要限定在对当代中国老年人的研究;相对而言,后两个影响因素作为社区社会资本的测量则更具有解释普遍现象的能力,因为它们与老年人健康之间的关系再次证实了一些基本社会学理论观点。此研究的发现有助于人们认识社会因素影响健康差异的机制和过程。

Data from General Social Survey in China of 2008 is adopted to conduct a statistic analysis on somo-economic factors of health disparities of the elderly of China. aiming at examining the impact of capital accumulation on the elderly＇s health. The result indicates that variables, like expanded family network. frequency of changing careers, and self-evaluation of social class and family economic status, will cast obvious influence on the elderly＇s health. The first two variables mentioned above, as ways for measuring individual and social capitals, is featured by transforming Chinese society, understanding of relationship between them and the elderly＇s health, therefore, needs to be limited within research of in contemporary China. In comparison, the last two variables, as ways for measuring community social capital, are capable of explaining universal phenomena for relationship between the elderly＇s health and them once again prove some of fundamental sociological theories. Findings of this study help to understand potential mechanisms and processes of the impact of social environments on individual health.