Resilience, social capital, and well-being : a cross-sectional study in a context of adversity

Abstract

An important and recurrent attribute in resilient individuals is the value they place in relationships to others, and the quality of these relationships, and it was of interest to investigate how the concept of resilience was related to social capital. Resilience and social capital are associated with good outcomes and well-being, although individual and cultural differences exist. An essential topic in the resilience research is the prevention of maladaptation in individuals at risk. Therefore, to be able to handle adversities in a satisfactory way, it is important to gain knowledge of common individual and environmental factors of resilient individuals. The purpose of this explorative study was to investigate how resilience, social capital and subjective well-being were related in individuals in adverse life circumstances. It was assumed that higher levels of resilience would be associated with higher levels of social capital and subjective well-being. The participants were 269 HIV-positive, poor, black South Africans. Three questionnaires were administered, measuring 1) resilience in adults, 2) structural and cognitive social capital elements: groups and networks, trust and solidarity and collective action and social cohesion, at bonding, bridging and linking levels, and 3) subjective well-being. Several elements of resilience and cognitive social capital were associated, at all levels of social capital. Cognitive social capital was associated with subjective well-being, however, resilience was not. Instead, objective measures of well-being were associated with being resilient. Interestingly, for individuals that had a positive and optimistic view of the future, subjective well-being was central. Possible implications are discussed.