| There are strong theoretical
reasons for believing that social capital is extremely
important for the development of children’s well-being.
Social capital, which refers to the social interactions
and support as well as mutual levels of trust and reciprocity
that are beneficial to individuals, has already been
found to be a valuable concept among adults and has
been linked to a host of beneficial outcomes including
fighting poverty, improving well-being and health,
and increasing neighborhood safety. To date, only a
handful of studies have investigated the role of social
capital among young people, and these have generally
focused on adolescents. In these studies, numerous
problems with the theory, definition, and assessment
of social capital persist. The main problem in these
studies is the failure to regard children and youth
as having any perspective on the issue. Typically,
parents and/or teachers serve as “proxies” of
children in social capital research with young people.
This project is led by Nicole
Schaefer-McDaniel who investigated a conceptual framework of social
capital, in which social capital was defined in terms
of children’s social interactions and support;
notions of trust and reciprocity; and sense of belonging
(see Schaefer-McDaniel, 2004). Data were collected
through interactive methods with a group of middle-school
students in New York City. Findings suggest that
social capital is a relevant concept for this age
group and that the forms of bridging and bonding
as suggested by Putnam (2000) depended on children’s
independent mobility or use of space. Future projects
will explore how social capital and perceptions of
the physical environment simultaneously affect children’s
well-being.
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