Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Understanding the Effect of Social Capital on the Depression of Urban Chinese Adolescents: An Integrative Framework

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

Using data from an ongoing longitudinal study of 5,164 adolescents and their parents from seven cities in mainland China, this study investigated how social capital embedded in the family and the community, together with family human capital and financial capital, influenced the depressive symptoms of urban Chinese adolescents within an integrative framework. The structural equation modeling results suggested that higher community social capital was associated with lower level of adolescent depressive symptoms and was the strongest predictor among all these contextual factors. Family social capital played a significant role in mediating the effects of all other contextual factors on adolescent depressive symptoms. Unexpectedly, higher family financial capital predicted increased depressive symptoms both directly and indirectly through its negative effect on family social capital. As for gender, female adolescents reported more depressive symptoms as a result of less available family social capital. Implications of these findings for theory, practice, policy, and future research are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agnew, R. (1991). A longitudinal test of social control theory and delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 28, 126–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allison, K. W., Burton, L., Marshall, S., Perez-Febles, A., Yarrington, J., Kirsh, L. B., et al. (1999). Life experiences among urban adolescents: Examining the role of context. Child Development, 70(4), 1017–1029.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A. (1988). Childhood and adolescent depression: I. Epidemiological and etiological aspects. British Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 601–617.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A., Costello, E. J., & Worthman, C. M. (1998). Puberty and depression: The roles of age, pubertal status and pubertal timing. Psychological Medicine, 28, 51–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238–246.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beyers, J. M., Bates, J. E., Pettit, G. S., & Dodge, K. A. (2003). Neighborhood structure, parenting processes, and the development of youths’ externalizing behaviors: A multilevel analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 31(1/2), 35–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boisjoly, J., Duncan, G. J., & Hofferth, S. (1995). Access to social capital. Journal of Family Issues, 16(5), 609–631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bollen, K. A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braveman, P. A., Cubbin, C., Egerter, S., Chideya, S., Marchi, K., Metzler, M., et al. (2005). Socioeconomic status in health research: One size does not fit all. JAMA, 294(22), 2879–2888.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G. J., Klebanov, P. K., & Sealand, N. (1993). Do neighborhoods influence child and adolescent development? American Journal of Sociology, 99, 353–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks-Gunn, J., & Peterson, A. C. (1991). Studying the emergence of depression and depressive symptoms during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20, 115–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, P., & Richman, H. A. (1997). Neighborhood effects and state and local policy. In J. Brooks-Gunn, G. J. Duncan, & J. L. Aber (Eds.), Neighborhood poverty: Vol. 2. Policy implications in studying neighborhoods (pp. 164–181). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, X., Rubin, K. H., & Li, B. (1995). Depressed mood in Chinese children: Relations with school performance and family environment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63(6), 938–947.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (1998). The development of depression in children and adolescents. American Psychologist, 53(2), 221–241.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Colarossi, L. G., & Eccles, J. S. (2003). Differential effects of support providers on adolescents’ mental health. Social Work Research, 27(1), 19–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Sociological Review, 94, s95–s120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. S. (1990). Foundations of social theory. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. S., & Hoffer, T. B. (1987). Public and private schools: The impact of communities. New York: Basic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coulton, C. (2005). The place of community in social work practice research: Conceptual and methodological developments. Social Work Research, 29(2), 73–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Croninger, R. G., & Lee, V. E. (2001). Social capital and dropping out of high school: Benefits to at-risk students of teachers’ support and guidance. Teachers College Record, 10(4), 548–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorsey, S., & Forehand, R. (2003). The relation of social capital to child psychosocial adjustment difficulties: The role of positive parenting and neighborhood dangerousness. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 25(1), 11–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drukker, M., Kaplan, C., Feron, F., & Van Os, J. (2003). Children’s health-related quality of life, neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and social capital: A contextual analysis. Social Science and Medicine, 57(5), 825–841.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, K. M. (2005). Child labor and social capital in the mezzosystem: Family-and-community-based risk and protective factors for street-working children in Mexico. Journal of Social Work Research and Evaluation, 6(1), 101–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, K. M. (2006). Social capital and children’s well-being: A critical synthesis of the international social capital literature. International Journal of Social Welfare, 15, 2–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furstenberg, F. F., & Hughes, M. E. (1995). Social capital and successful development among at-risk youth. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 580–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberger, E., Chen, C., Taly, S. R., & Dong, Q. (2000). Family, peer, and individual correlates of depressive symptomatology among U.S. and Chinese adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(2), 209–219.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grootaert, C., Narayan, D., Jones, V. N., & Woolcock, M. (2004). Measuring social capital: An integrated questionnaire. World Bank Working Paper No. 18.

  • Hao, L., & Bonstead-Bruns, M. (1998). Parent-child differences in educational expectations and the academic achievement of immigrant and native students. Sociology of Education, 71, 175–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hesketh, T., Ding, Q. J., & Jenkins, R. (2002). Suicide ideation in Chinese adolescents. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 37(5), 230–235.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holmbeck, G. N. (1997). Toward terminological, conceptual, and statistical clarity in the study of mediators and moderators: Examples from the child-clinical and pediatric psychology literatures. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 599–610.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, M. E., Furstenberg, F. F., & McDonald, K. B. (1998). Neighborhoods, motility, and the successful development of at-risk youth. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Chicago, IL.

  • Jacobson, K. C., & Crockett, L. J. (2000). Parental monitoring and adolescent adjustment: An ecological perspective. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 10, 65–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, S. D. (1999). The social context of youth violence: A study of African American youth. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 11(3–4), 159–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, C. A. (2004). China Seven Cities Study of health promotion. Symposium at the 36th Asia Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH), Brisbane, Australia, November 30 to December 3, 2004.

  • Johnson, C. A., Palmer, P. H., Chou, C., Pang, Z., Guo, Q., Sun, P., et al. (2006). Tobacco use among youth and adults in mainland China: The China Seven Cities Study. Public Health, 120, 1156–1169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kandel, D., & Davies, M. (1986). Adult sequelae of adolescent depressive symptoms. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, 255–262.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kazdin, A. E. (1990). Childhood depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31, 121–160.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). NY: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewinson, P. M., Rhode, P., Seeley, J. R., & Andrews, J. A. (1993). Adolescent psychopathology: I. Prevalence and incidence of depression and other DSM-III-R disorders in high school students. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 133–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y. L. (2003). Parent-child interaction and children’s depression: The relationships between parent-child interaction and children’s depressive symptoms in Taiwan. Journal of Adolescence, 26, 447–457.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, X., Ma, D., Kurita, H., & Tang, M. (1999). Self-reported depressed symptoms among Chinese adolescents. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 34(1), 44–47.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lundborg, P. (2005). Social capital and substance use among Swedish adolescents—An explorative study. Social Science and Medicine, 61, 1151–1158.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Krull, J. L., & Lockwood, C. M. (2000). Equivalence of the mediation, confounding and suppression effect. Prevention Science, 1(4), 173–181.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman, J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, V. (2002). A comparison of methods to test the significance of the mediated effect. Psychological Methods, 7, 83–104.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie, K., Whitley, R., & Weich, S. (2002). Social capital and mental health. British Journal of Psychiatry, 181, 280–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McNeal, R. (1999). Parental involvement as social capital: Differential effectiveness on science achievement, truancy, and dropping out. Social Forces, 78(1), 117–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrow, V. (1999). Conceptualizing social capital in relation to the well-being of children and young people: A critical review. Sociological Review, 47(4), 744–765.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Bureau of Statistics. (2003). China Statistical Yearbook 2003.

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Girgus, J. S. (1994). The emergence of gender differences in depression during adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 115(3), 424–443.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Neil, M. (1984). Affective disorders. In E. Turner (Ed.), Adult psychopathology: A social work perspective (pp. 148–180). New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parcel, T. L., & Dufur, M. J. (2001). Capital at home and at school: Effects on child social adjustment. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63(1), 32–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parcel, T. L., & Menaghan, E. G. (1993). Family social capital and children’s behavior problems. Social Psychology Quarterly, 56(2), 120–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, A. C., Compas, B. E., Brooks-Gunn, J., Stemmler, M. Ey. S., & Grant, K. E. (1993). Depression in adolescence. American Psychologist, 48, 155–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A. (1998). Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. D. (1993). The prosperous community. Social capital and public life. The American Prospect, Spring, 35–42.

  • Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, R. E., Lewinsohn, P. L., & Seeley, J. R. (1991). Screening for adolescent depression: A comparison of depression scales. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30(1), 58–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Runyan, D. K., Hunter, W. M., Socolar, R. S., Amaya-Jackson, L., English, D., Landsverk, J., et al. (1998). Children who prosper in unfavorable environments: The relationship to social capital. Pediatrics, 101(1), 12–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J. (1997). The embeddedness of child and adolescent development: A community level perspective on urban violence. In J. McCord (Ed.), Violence and childhood in the inner city (pp. 31–77). New York: Cambridge University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J., Morenoff, J. D., & Earls, F. (1999). Beyond social capital: Spatial dynamics of collective efficacy for children. American Sociological Review, 64, 633–660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schoenbach, V. J., Kaplan, B. A., & Grimson, R. C. (1982). Use of a symptom scale to study the prevalence of a depressive syndrome in young adolescents. American Journal of Epidemiology, 116, 791–800.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sheeber, L., Hops, H., Alpert, A., Davis, B., & Andrews, J. (1997). Family support and conflict: Prospective relations to adolescent depression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 25(4), 333–344.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, L. G., Simons, R. L., Conger, R. D., & Brody, G. H. (2004). Collective socialization and child conduct problems: A multilevel analysis with an African American sample. Youth and Society, 35(3), 267–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sobel, M. E. (1987). Direct and indirect effects in linear structural equation models. Sociological Methods and Research, 16(1), 155–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steiger, J. H. (1990). Structural model evaluation and modification: An interval estimation approach. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 25, 173–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stern, S. B., Smith, C. A., & Jang, S. J. (1999). Urban families and adolescent mental health. Social Work Research, 23(1), 15–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, H. C. (1998). Raising safe villages: Cultural-ecological factors that influence the emotional adjustment of adolescents. Journal of Black Psychology, 24(1), 44–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, Y. M. (1999). The contextual effects of community social capital on academic performance. Social Science Research, 28, 403–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teachman, J. D., Paasch, K., & Carver, K. (1996). Social capital and dropping out of school early. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 773–783.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teachman, J. D., Paasch, K., & Carver, K. (1997). Social capital and the generation of human capital. Social Forces, 75(4), 1343–1359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valenzuela, A., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1994). Familism and social capital in the academic achievement of Mexican origin and Anglo adolescents. Social Science Quarterly, 75(1), 18–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells, V. E., Klerman, G. L., & Deykin, E. Y. (1987). The prevalence of depressive symptoms in college students. Social Psychiatry, 22, 20–28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • White, M. J., & Glick, J. E. (2000). Generation status, social capital, and the routes out of high school. Sociological Forum, 15(4), 671–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wickrama, K. A. S., & Bryant, C. M. (2003). Community context of social resources and adolescent mental health. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65, 850–866.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yan, S., Robins, C., & Lin, N. (2000). A cross-cultural comparison of depressive symptom manifestation: China and the United States. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(6), 993–999.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J., & Norvilitis, J. M. (2002). Measuring Chinese psychological well-being with Western developed instruments. Journal of Personality Assessment, 79(3), 492–511.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, M., & Bankston, C. L. (1994). Social capital and the adaptation of the second generation: The case of Vietnamese youth in New Orleans. International Migration Review, 28(4), 821–845.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Claremont Graduate University and University of Southern California Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC), funded by the National Institutes of Health (grant #1 P50 CA84735-01), and the Sidney R. Garfield Endowment. The authors thank the China Seven Cities Study (CSCS) directors and project staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the cities of Chengdu, Hangzhou, Harbin, Qingdao, Shenyang, and Wuhan and the Institute for Health Education in Kunming, People’s Republic of China, for assistance with project coordination and data collection. We also thank the principals, physicians, and teachers in the participating schools for their cooperation. Finally, we express our gratitude to the national Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Peking University School of Public Health, and the municipal government, Health Bureau, and Education Committee in each participating city for their support. In addition, we wish to acknowledge the special contribution of Drs. Ping Sun and Qian Guo at the University of Southern California.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong

    Qiaobing Wu

  2. School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA, 91711, USA

    Bin Xie, Paula H. Palmer, Peggy E. Gallaher & C. Anderson Johnson

  3. Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Alhambra, CA, 91803, USA

    Chih-Ping Chou

Authors
  1. Qiaobing Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bin Xie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chih-Ping Chou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Paula H. Palmer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Peggy E. Gallaher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. C. Anderson Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qiaobing Wu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wu, Q., Xie, B., Chou, CP. et al. Understanding the Effect of Social Capital on the Depression of Urban Chinese Adolescents: An Integrative Framework. Am J Community Psychol 45, 1–16 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-009-9284-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-009-9284-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation