Social and Community Context
Social and community context includes the social settings in which people live and act. It includes
social relationships and the social, religious, cultural, and occupational institutions with which
they interact.
An important aspect of an individual's social context is the sense of cohesion and interpersonal
trust among community members and an individual's sense that they belong and are supported in
their community. Social cohesion is strongly influenced by racial discrimination and
inequality.
Aspects of the social and community context
include:
- Social Cohesion
- Civic Participation
- Discrimination
- Incarceration
Social context and social capital in the living environment, both on
the individual and neighbourhood level, is positively associated with self-rated
health.
One's "social captial," including social support networks, civic participation
and voting, and working to improve conditions in the community, is sometimes
used to measure an individual's positive social context. An optional questionnaire
module on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey has been
developed to measure social captial.
