Social capital and families of children with chronic conditions: Instrument development and testing

• Main Author: Looman, Wendy Sue
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2003
• Subjects: Chronic illnesses; Medical equipment; Nursing; Psychological tests; Quantitative psychology; Social capital; Social research
• ISBN: 0496437720; 9780496437726

Inconsistent use of social capital as a theoretical concept in literature to date has led to a lack of consensus and precision in communication about its utility and measurement. The objective of the research presented here was to explore social capital as a concept using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and to produce a reliable, valid instrument to measure social capital in the context of families caring a child with a chronic health condition. The results of this research may serve to focus nursing research on health as an asset gained through social interactions. Such an approach will guide the promotion of health in both specific and general populations. It will also contribute to the establishment of consensus and precision in communication about social capital's utility and measurement in nursing and related disciplines. Three phases of the instrument development process are presented. In the first, a review of literature is discussed in light of social capital's strengths and weaknesses as a concept, and implications for nursing as a discipline are explored. The second section discusses the results of a series of focus groups conducted by the author to qualitatively define social capital from the perspectives of parents and caregivers of children with chronic conditions, and the phenomenological examination of data toward a structural definition of social capital. The final section describes the development and testing of a scale to quantitatively measure social capital in this population, as operationalized by the processes described above. Analyses of data are discussed as they relate to the social capital scale and its utility for nursing research. Results suggest that this 20-item measure of social capital may reliably and validly measure families' investments in relationships in the community as a health-related asset.