The effects of Social Capital Components on the Mental Health of Rural and Nomadic Women: A Case of the Members of Micro-credit Funds in Kerman Province

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, University of Zabol

2 Former M.Sc. Student, Department of Agricultural Extension & Education, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

3 Ph.D. Student, Department of Agricultural Extension & Education, Faculty of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

The main purpose of this research is to analyze the effects of social capital components on the mental
health of rural and nomadic women that were the members of micro-credit funds in Kerman province.
The study is a descriptive-correlational research conducted through a survey technique. The statistical
population consisted of all the members of the micro-credit funds in Kerman province (N = 1146).
As many as 300 members were selected as a sample using Krejcie and Morgan sample size table and
the stratified random sampling method. The research tool was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed
by an academic panel of agricultural extension and education and mental health experts. Its reliability
was confirmed by using a pilot test and calculating Cronbach's Alpha coefficients (0.72 ≤ α ≤
0.89). The findings of the correlational analysis revealed that all the components including social trust,
social interaction, social participation, social cohesion, exchange of information with social system, and
informal relations positively and significantly correlate with the mental health of women. Furthermore,
the results of the regression analysis demonstrated that the variables of social trust, social interaction,
social cohesion, and exchange of information with social system have positive and significant impacts on
mental health. These variables explained 61.9 percent of the variance of the mental health of rural and
nomadic women.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Abbaszadeh, M., Saadati, M., Habibzadeh, A., & Heidari, R. (2012). [Social capital and mental health among married women of Tabriz City (Persian)]. Social Security Research, 32, 129-162.
Agampodi, T. C., Agampodi, S. B., Glozier, N., & Siribaddana, S. (2015). Measurement of social capital in relation to health in low and middle income countries (LMIC): A systematic review. Social Science and Medicine, 128, 95-104.
Agricultural Jihad Organization of Kerman Province. (2016). [Statistics of rural and nomadic women's micro-credit funds (No Published) (Persian)].
Babaieamiri, N., Haghighatdost, S., & Ashori, J. (2016). [The relationship between job burnout, perceived social support and psychological hardiness with mental health among nurses (Persian)]. Scientific Journal of Hamadan Nursing & Midwifery Faculty, 24(2), 120-128.
Bazi, K. R., Kiani, A., Hanifi-Asl, Y., & Razei, A. (2011). [Analyzing spatial differences of social capital in marginal urban and rural regions of the country (Comparative study of urban and rural centers in Urmia City) (Persian)]. Iranian Journal of Sociology, 11 (2), 74-102.
Cheng, Y., Li, X., Lou, C., Sonenstein, F. L., Kalamar, A., Jejeebhoy, S., Delany-Moretlwe, S., Brahmbhatt, H., Olumide, A.O. & Ojengbede, O. (2014). The association between social support and mental health among vulnerable adolescents in five cities: findings from the study of the well-being of adolescents in vulnerable environments. Journal of Adolescent Health, 55(6), 31-38.
Colton, T., Janzen, B., & Laverty, W. (2015). Family structure, social capital, and mental health disparities among Canadian mothers. Public health, 129(6), 639-647.
De-Silva, M. J., Huttlya, S. R., Harpham, T. and Kenward, M. G. (2007). Social capital and mental health: A comparative analysis of four low income countries. Social Science and Medicine, 64(1): 5-20.
Farhadi, F., & Ebrahimi, M. S. (2015). [The role of rural ICT offices in the social development of rural women Shahreza County (Persian)]. Journal of Regional Planning, 5(19), 137-148.
Farzaneh, S., & Ramzan, A. (2012). [A Survey on relationship between social capital and urban development, case study of Ghaemshahr (Persian)]. Sociological Studies of Youth Journal, 3(6), 109-132.
Fazelnia, G., & Hashemi, R. (2015). [Analysis of socio-cultural inhibitory beliefs of rural women's participation in planning and management process of rural development (case study: The city of Rustam) (Persian)]. Quarterly Journal of Woman and Socity, 5(1), 41-66.
Fiorillo, D. & Sabatini, F. (2015). Structural social capital and health in Italy. Economics and Human Biology, 17: 129–142.
Ghaderi, M., & Shamsi, A. (2015). [The correlation between emotional intelligence and mental health among students of Jiroft city (Persian)]. Journal of Health Promotion Management, 5(1), 62-72.
Ghadiri-Masom, m. and Ahmadi, A. (2016). [The factors influencing success of micro-credit funds in the economic empowerment of rural women, Firoozkooh County (Persian)]. Human Geography Research Quarterly, 47(4): 759-772.
Ghorbani, M., Avazpour, L., & Rasekhi, S. (2016). [Social capital analysis of rural women network in line with empowerment of local (Persian)]. Quarterly of Social Studies Researcch in Iran, 5(2), 273-294.
Goryakin, Y., Suhrcke, M., Rocco, L., Roberts, B., & McKee, M. (2014). Social capital and self-reported general and mental health in nine Former Soviet Union countries. Health Economics, Policy and Law, 9(01): 1-24.
Han, S., & Lee, H. S. (2013). Individual, household and administrative area levels of social capital and their associations with mental health: a multi-level analysis of cross-sectional evidence. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 59(7): 716-23.
Harpham, T., Grant, E., & Rodriguez, C. (2004). Mental health and social capital in Cali, Colombia. Social Science and Medicine, 58(11): 2267-2277.
Heidari, H., Faaljou, H., Nazariyan, E., & Mohammadzadeh, Y. (2013). [Social capital, health capital and economic growth in the Middle East countries (Persian)]. Quarterly Journal of Economic Growth and Development, 3(11), 57-74.
Hillemeier, M. M., Weisman, C. S., Chase, G. A., & Dyer, A.M. (2008). Mental health status among rural women of reproductive age: findings from the Central Pennsylvania Women's Health Study. American journal of public health, 98(7): 1271-1279.
Ikemi, M. (2011). A challenge of microcredit program in rural Africa, Economic Journal of Hokkaido University, 5(40), 15-28.
Kamran, F., & Ershadi, Kh. (2009). [Analysis of the relationship between social capital and mental health (Persian)]. Social Research, 2(3): 29-54.
Keyvanara, M., Hagheghatian, M., & Alibabaiy, M. (2015). [The relationship between social capital and mental health amonge the citizens of Shahr-e-Kord (Persian)]. Journal of Ilam University of Medical Sciences, 22(7), 47-55.
Khajedadi, A., Sharifian-Sani, M., Shiani, M., & Karimloo, M. (2008). [Relationship between social capital and health among mothers (Persian)]. Quarterly Journal of Economic Growth and Development, 8(30-31), 83-102.
Kilburn, K., Thirumurthy, H., Halpern, C.T., Pettifor, A., & Handa, S. (2016). Effects of a large-scale unconditional cash transfer program on mental health outcomes of young people in Kenya. Journal of Adolescent Health, 58(2), 223-229.
Krejcie, R. V., Morgan, D. W., (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607-610.
Lee, B. (2005). Alcohol-induced stress and social support as infuluences of the substance abusers health and well-being. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
Lee, J. S., Koeske, G. F., & Sales, E. (2004). Social support buffering of acculturative stress: a study of mental health symptoms among Korean international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 28(5), 399-414.
Liu, G. G., Xue, X., Yu, C., & Wang, Y. (2016). How does social capital matter to the health status of older adults? Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey. Economics and Human Biology, 22, 177-189.
Makani, F., & Hasani-mehr, S. (2016). [The role of factors in the participation of women in rural development (Case Study: Lavandevil Astara) (Persian)]. Urban Management, 14(41), 67-83.
Mehri, A., Hezar-Jaribi, j., & Vesali, S. (2011). [An investigating the affect of social capital on mental and social health of Hamedan County's teachers in 2011 (M. Sc. Thesis) (Persian)]. Allameh Tabataba'i University.
Mirdamadi, S. N., Teimouri, M., Teimouri, M., & Mostafei, M. E. (2016). [Effective mechanisms to promote women participation in training courses in Isfahan County (Persian)]. Journal of Research & Rural Planning, 5(2), 1-13.
Mohammadi, F., & Maleki, A. (2016). [An investigation into the relationship between social capital and the nutritional knowledge of athletes (Persian)]. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 8(1), 1-20.
Mohammadzadeh, R., & Farrokhi, S. (2016). [Phenomenological evaluation of temporary housing conditions based on the survay among the female population of post-earthquake Chubanlar Sardarlu-Heris (Persian)]. Journal of Housing and Rural Environment, 34(152), 69-84.
Mohyuddin, A., Chaudhry, H. U. R., & Ambreen, M. (2012). Contribution of women in economic activities in rural balochestan: World system analysis at micro level in anthropological perspective. Academic Research International, 3(2), 548-556.
Nenadovic, M., & Epstein, G. (2016). The relationship of social capital and fishers’ participation in multi-level governance arrangements. Environmental Science and Policy, 61, 77-86.
Nomadic Affairs Office of Kerman Province. (2016). [Statistics of rural and nomadic women's micro-credit funds. (No Published) (Persian)].
Nooripor, M., Tavakolitabar, Z., & Mirzaei, Sh. (2012). [Analysis of social capital in rural women members and non-members of the cooperatives; the case of central district of Choram County (Persian)]. Women in Development and Politics, 12(1), 135-151.
Pakseresht, S. (2014). [Considerations and strategies of enhancing social capital (Persian)]. Strategy for Culture, 7(25), 71-104.  
Razavizadeh, N., Noghani-Dokht-Bahmani, M., & Yousofi, A. (2013). [Social capital and mental health among students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (Persian)]. Social Sciences, 2, 25-51.
Rezaei, R., & Zareei, SH. (2015). [Viewpoints of rural women on effect of social capital components on their empowerment (case study: Hassan- Khan village, Ghorveh township) (Persian)]. Women in Development and Politics, 12(2), 287-304.
Rezaei, T., Bayani, A. A., & Shariatnia, K. (2015). [The prediction of mental health based on variables of Self-esteem, life satisfaction and hope among College students (Persian)]. Iranian Journal of Health Education and Health Promotion, 3(3), 242-252.
Rostami, F., Aliabadi, V., & baghaye, S. (2013). [Membership in rural organizations on social capital and quality of life of rural women (Persian)]. Space Economy & Rural Development, 2(2), 1-14.
Sajjadi, H., Hosseinpour, N., Sharifian-Sani, M., & Mahmoodi, Z. (2016). [Association between health literacy and life style in married rural women in Izeh, Iran (Persian)]. Journal of Health, 7(4), 479-489.
Sanagoo, A., Behnampour, N., Taghavee, A., & Baiky, F. (2014). [Relationship between mental health and burnout in Al–E-Jalil hospital`s staff, 2014 (Persian)]. Journal of Research Development in Nursing & Midwifery, 12(2), 21-28.
Seyyedan, F., & Abdolsamadi, M. (2011). [The relation of social capital with mental health in women and men (Persian)]. Social Welfare Quarterly, 22(42), 229-254.
Shahrokhi-Sardoo, S., & Karami, A. (2016). [The analysis of participation accelerators and their influence on economic performance of micro-credit funds for rural women (The case of: Jiroft county) (Persian)]. Quarterly Journal of Womens Studies Sociological and Psychological, 14(2), 185-212.
Shams, A., Razmi, H., & Shahir, M. H. (2016). [Investigating factors related to rural womens’ participation in family poultry activities in Maragheh County (Persian)]. Women in Development & Politics, 13(4), 549-566.
Sharifzadeh, M., & Karimi, J. (2016). [An Investigation of factors affecting textile weaving development among Baneh county rural women (Persian)]. Quarterly Journal of Womens Studies Sociological and Psychological, 14(2), 127-156.
Shirazi, F., Rezvani, Sh., Haghighi, N., & Farzamfar, E. (2014). [The relationship between mental health disorders with anxiety and depression in mothers of children (Persian)]. Cheshmandaz Amin in Applied Psychology, 1(1), 37-44.
Soltani, T., & Jamali, M. (2016). [Investigating of the relationship between social capital and mental health participants: Students of the social sciences department, Shiraz University (Persian)]. Quarterly Journal of Management and Development Process, 21(68-69), 108-121.
Tavakoli-Khormizi S. A. R., Hamedinia, M., AmiriParsa, Khadmosharie, M., & Azarnive, M. S. (2015). [Comparison the effect of two periods of aerobic training and one period of detraining on the quality of life and mental health of women with diabetes Type 2 (Persian)]. Quarterly of the Horizon of Medical Sciences, 21(3), 205-212.  
Warren-Findlow, J., Laditka, J.N., Laditka. S.B. and Thompson, M.E. (2011). Association Between social relationships and emotional well-being in middle-aged and older Africans. Research on Aging, 33(6), 713-734.