A large body of literature suggests that a variety of resources can have an impact on health. The majority of previous studies have focused mainly on economic (e.g., income, wealth and living conditions) and social capital (e.g., relationships and social support) and their role in explaining health inequalities. Numerous studies have also dealt with the health impact of “Bourdieu’s” cultural capital, either in isolation or compared to other forms of capital. These studies have found that people’s cultural practices and dispositions (“habitus”) may also impact their health and wellbeing, above and beyond other forms of capital. Yet, the majority of such studies have been carried out in Western, established democracies and on adult populations. Our study focused on youth in a post-communist, comparatively egalitarian country. We examined the link between several subjective health and well-being indicators and various measures of cultural capital, as well as other economic and social capital predictors, controlling for sociodemographic correlates. We used data from a representative study of Slovenian young people aged 15–29 years (N = 1,257; 48.8 % women). We found that several indicators of cultural capital had bivariate associations with subjective health and well-being, some positive (e.g., reading and engagement in public cultural events), and some negative (e.g., writing a journal/poetry and online cultural activities). In multivariate regression models, the impact of several measures of cultural capital remained significant net of other forms of capital and sociodemographic controls. Implications of the results are discussed, and future research possibilities are suggested.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 24163592Cultural participation is an important element of social environment that may have a positive impact on health and well-being, yet some cultural activities have been declining in recent years in Europe. Additionally, highbrow cultural activities (visiting museums, going to ballet/dance/opera performances) and popular cultural activities (going to the cinema, music concerts) tend to vary during the life cycle. Finally, health-related impact of both dimensions of cultural participation may differ at various stages of life. The main aim of our research was to examine and compare the impact of dimensions of cultural participation on subjective health outcomes among three age groups in Slovenia: young people (16-34-year olds), adults (35-64-year-olds) and the elderly (65+). We performed multivariate analyses on cross-sectional EU-SILC 2015 survey data, a nationally-representative sample of Slovenian adults (16+ year-olds). We found 1) that cultural participation was associated with better health among all three age groups; 2) that participation’s impact was the smallest among the elderly; and 3) that age moderated the impact of dimensions of cultural participation on health. Targeted strategies encouraging cultural participation might contribute to improved health among the Slovenian public.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 24130824In this article we deal with the following questions: what is solidarity? Which societies have more solidarity? Do youth in Slovenia express solidarity? Are young people who express more solidarity also more active in public cultural and political life?
B.06 Other
COBISS.SI-ID: 24413448