Social Capital and Childhood Psychiatric Disorders: A Cross-sectional Study

The aim of this research was to determine whether social capital is associated with either the type or severity of psychiatric disorders of childhood, specifically, disorders of emotion and behaviour. Ninety parents of children between the ages of 4 and 18 years with an emotional disorder or behavioural disorder participated in the study. They completed two questionnaires: the Child Behaviour Checklist (to assess severity of disorder) and a questionnaire measuring social capital. There was no statistically significant association between total social capital score and either diagnosis or severity of illness. However, two components of social capital showed significant associations: ;perceptions of the local area' was significantly associated with severity of illness and ;social networks' with diagnosis. The findings of this study suggest that some components of social capital may be more important in relation to mental health than others.