Gender Differences in the Association Between Social Capital and Individual Smoking Behaviors Among Asian American Populations

Purpose:

Smoking is the single most important preventable cause of premature death in developed countries. Recent studies have shown that social capital, among other factors, is significantly associated with smoking behaviors. Individuals with higher level of social capital are less likely to be current smokers or are more likely to undergo smoking cessation (Lindstrom et al, 2002; 2003; 2004). However, few studies have analyzed the differential effects of social capital between gender and with Asian Americans, despite some evidence suggests that the effects of social capital may be heterogeneous between women and men (Kavanagh et al., 2006; Chuang & Chuang, 2008). This paper assesses gender differences in the relationships between social capital and smoking behaviors among Asian Americans.

Method:

Data on individual socio-demographic characteristics, smoking, and social capital are drawn from the National Latino and Asian Americans Survey (NLAAS, 2001-2003), an NIMH-funded, nationally representative survey of health and health behaviors among Latino/as and Asian American populations. In total, 2,095 Asian American respondents were analyzed, including 1,097 (52.36%) women and 998 (47.64%) men. The sample represents about eight million adult Asian Americans. The dependent variable is a dichotomous measure: current smoker or not. The independent variable, social capital, consisted of four social capital scales: bonding social capital, bridging social capital, family cohesion, neighborhood reciprocity and trust. The data were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression and interactions between gender and social capital were included to test the differential effects of social capital on smoking.

Results:

Gender differences are found in some aspects of social capital. Women tend to have higher levels of bonding and bridging social capital than men, while both have similar levels of perceived family cohesion, neighborhood reciprocity and trust. As for smoking prevalence, Asian American men (20.1%) are more likely than women (7.1%) to be current smokers. Regression analysis shows that higher levels of bonding and bridging social capital are significantly and positively associated with being a current smoker, while family cohesion and neighborhood trust and reciprocity are not significantly associated with the status of smoking. Further analysis reveals the effects of social capital on smoking are significantly stronger for women than for men. With higher levels of bonding and bridging social capital, the predicted probability of female smoking increases significantly and substantially; however, the effect for men is much less, even negative in the case of bridging social capital.

Implications:

Theoretically, the study provides new empirical evidence that social capital is not universally beneficial for health. Thus, future research should take into account the social context when analyzing its health effects. In addition, the findings suggest that social capital interventions may entail a paradox. Policy makers or social work practitioners must bear in mind that, while higher level of social capital is generally beneficial for health, it may also come with a cost. Particularly for Asian American women (not for men), who are culturally discouraged from smoking, the more they are bridging with friends and relatives in the US, the higher the probability to take up smoking.