SOCIAL CAPITAL AND HEALTH AT MIDLIFE AND OLD AGE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY AMONG FINNISH-SPEAKING AND SWEDISH-SPEAKING FINNS

Background: Social capital in terms of a person’s networks, engagement and trust is said to be beneficial for good health. Swedish-speaking Finns, the main cultural minority group in Finland, have been shown to possess a higher degree of social capital than their Finnish-speaking fellow citizens and they also have better health status in general. This differentiates the Swedish-speaking Finns from most other minority groups in the world. The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether higher social capital would be associated with better health of the Swedish-speaking Finns compared to the Finnish-speaking Finns among Finnish municipal employees. Methods: This study was based on the Finnish Longitudinal study of Municipal Employees (FLAME). The baseline survey among employees of 44-58 years of age was conducted in 1981 (N=6257 of which 174 were Swedish-speaking) and the employees were followed for 28 years. Questions for three features of social capital – social ties, civic engagement and reciprocal civic trust – were identified from the surveys both at baseline and at follow-up. Respective variables were constructed as well as a summar