The relationships between bonding social capital, personal belief in a just world and well-being: an analysis of a diver
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The relationships between bonding social capital, personal belief in a just world and well‑being: an analysis of a diverse student sample Erin C. Hoolihan1 · Kendra J. Thomas1 Received: 16 November 2019 / Accepted: 29 September 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The current study investigated the relationships between bonding social capital, perceptions of justice, and well-being (i.e. the level of depressive symptoms endorsed) in middle and high school students. Previous research has found personal belief in a just world (BJW) and bonding social capital to be associated with positive student well-being outcomes; however, prior research has not yet examined the relationships between these three variables simultaneously. Students from four schools (N = 602) completed questionnaires to better understand the relationships between bonding social capital, personal BJW, and well-being, and how these variables differ based on racial and socioeconomic background. Of note, the questionnaire included one narrative response question to better understand the sources that influence perceptions of justice. There were racial and/or socioeconomic differences in all three variables. Students from racially and/or socioeconomically privileged backgrounds reported significantly higher bonding social capital, higher personal BJW, and/or more positive well-being outcomes. Students’ families and their own lived experiences (i.e. past negative experiences) were cited most frequently as impacting perceptions of justice on the narrative response question. Finally, personal BJW partially mediated the relationship between bonding social capital and well-being. Data from the narrative responses and the mediating effect of personal BJW highlight the importance of students’ interactions with their immediate environments in shaping perceptions of justice and well-being. Keywords Perceptions of justice · Personal belief in a just world · Social capital · Bonding social capital · Well-being · Students
* Erin C. Hoolihan [email protected] 1
University of Indianapolis, 1400 E Hanna Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46227, USA
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E. C. Hoolihan, K. J. Thomas
1 Introduction The current research was driven by the desire to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that impact differences in student well-being. To this end, the current study investigated the relationships between bonding social capital, perceptions of justice, and well-being in students. As will be discussed further, previous research has shown that both bonding social capital and perceptions of justice influence student well-being (Dalbert and Stoeber 2005; Richmond et al. 2014; Donat et al. 2016; Novak and Kawachi 2015). However, prior research has yet to investigate the relationship between all three variables in one study. Furthermore, the current study deepens the understanding of these constructs by both examining how they are experienced by students from diverse racial and socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds in the United States, and by asking studen
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