Can Social Capital Protect Adolescents from Delinquent Behavior, Antisocial Attitudes, and Mental Health Problems?

Keywords

Social Capital, Delinquent Behavior, Mental Health

Abstract

Social capital theory suggests that the norms, obligations, and information adolescents receive from their social relationships act as a form of capital that can be traded in social situations. The implications of this theory are clear when considering growth in positive outcomes: more social capital should provide greater growth. However, the implications are less clear when considering potential protective effects against negative outcomes. We conduct a systematic review of the literature on social capital to examine the evidence for these protective effects. We discuss what social capital is and how it has been applied to youth previously before moving to a review of the relevant literature linking social capital and a number of negative outcomes. We find evidence that social capital does generally protect youth from negative outcomes; however, the evidence for some outcomes, such as mental health, are mixed. We review the implications of our findings and suggest avenues for future research.

Original Publication Citation

Dufur, Mikaela J., Jared D. Thorpe, Helen S. Barton, John P. Hoffmann, and Toby L. Parcel. 2019. “Can Social Capital Protect Adolescents from Delinquent Behavior, Antisocial Attitudes, and Mental Health Problems?” Archives of Psychology 3(6): 1-22.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2018-08-01

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6628

Publisher

Archives of Psychology

Language

english

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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