Adolescent Social Capital - An Intergenerational Resource?
Introduction: Social capital is a valuable asset that spawns multiple benefits, but little is known about its origins. This study narrows the gap by exploring the extent to which adolescents’ social capital is shaped by their parents’ social capital, the socioeconomic status (SES) of their families, or that of their neighbourhood. The study also explores which dimensions of adolescent social capital are most sensitive to intergenerational or socioeconomic influence.Methods: The study uses survey data gathered from adolescents aged 12–13 years and their parents (n = 167) in Southwest Finland. For the analysis, adolescents’ social capital was disaggregated into four dimensions: social networks, social trust, tendency to receive help, and tendency to provide help. For each dimension, the associations with the hypothesised predictors were analysed separately using structural equation modelling. Results: The results suggest that parents’ social capital is the most influential predictor to each dimension of adolescents’ social capital establishing stronger associations as compared to the other two predictors. However, it is not the parents’ actual social capital as they report themselves, but their offspring’s perception of their social behaviour. Family’s SES relates to young people’s reciprocal tendency and level of trust only indirectly through parents’ social capital. Conversely, a disadvantaged socioeconomic neighbourhood is directly negatively associated with adolescents’ level of trust and frequency of receiving help. Conclusions: This study suggests that social capital is distinctly, although not exclusively, an intergenerational resource. Parents are critical role models for adolescent children.