Search

This study explores whether family and community social capital variables influence children's school status in Mexico. Additional predictors related to human and financial capital were included as control variables. Two hundred and four mothers were interviewed as part of a larger study on the impact of social capital on children's street work in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Logistic regression results suggest that family and community protective factors associated with children's academic achievement include parental help with homework, mothers’ academic aspirations, extended family support and mothers’ social support networks. The author reports on family- and community-based predictors of children's school status and discusses the social work profession's role in strengthening families and communities to enhance children's academic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on social capital literature from the international realm, this article presents a critical synthesis of this social resource in relation to children's and youth's wellbeing. Although considerable evidence indicates that social capital can have a positive impact on future outcomes for children and youth, no prior comprehensive review exists of the literature on social capital and children's wellbeing. Adopting the systematic review method (SR), the author explores how social capital has been conceptualised and operationalised as an explanatory variable in research on individual and collective wellbeing with children and youth. Oft-cited indicators of family social capital and community social capital are identified, together with common control variables, such as human and financial capital. The author concludes by examining several social capital trends in relation to children's wellbeing and offering recommendations for future research using a social capital theoretical framework to explore additional outcomes related to children's and youth's wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]