The role of social capital in the Russian mortality crisis

Emerging evidence suggests that the degree of social cohesion is an important determinant of population health status. Citizens living in societies with a high degree of social cohesion - characterized by strong social networks and high levels of interpersonal trust seem to be healthier than those living in socially disorganized societies. Epidemiologists have become interested in notions of civil society and social capital to explain variations in health across societies. The purpose of the present paper was to examine the role of social capital in the Russian mortality crisis. Social capital has been defined as those features of social organization - such as the density of civic associations, levels of interpersonal trust, and norms of reciprocity - that act as resources for individuals, and facilitate collective action. A civil society is one that is rich in stocks of social capital. Various scholars have argued that one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Soviet regime was the paucity of civil society. Using household survey data from the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion research (VTsIOM), we carried out a cross-sectional, ecologic analysis of the association between indicators of social capital and mortality rates across 40 regions of Russia. We found associations between indicators of social capital (mistrust in government, crime, quality of work relations, civic engagement in politics) and life expectancy, as well as mortality rates. In the absence of civil society, it is believed that far more people in post-Soviet Russia rely on informal sources of support (friends, family) to deal with their day to day problems. Those lacking such sources of support may have been especially vulnerable to the economic hardships following the transformation to a market economy. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.