Living with best friends? A study of social and other capitals in housing for the elderly.

'Social capital' denotes the number and strength of bonds between people. Systems of elderly care try to create environments that are similar to people's original living environment. Community oriented housing is a new model provided by non-profits. It is supposed to create supportive relations between people and encourages individuals to be active. Despite the strong connection between care and social capital, there have been no studies systematically comparing these new forms to for instance standard assisted living. This article compares the social capital and other sorts of capital in a population of people 60+ living in either of the models in Germany. It studies various components of social capital, e.g., the social network, mutual support, participation in activities of the facility etc., but also cultural capital (trust) or engagement in taking over communal tasks (political capital). The analysis finds that community oriented models, with few exceptions, create higher levels in the assessed capitals, with the effects on social network strength to and instrumental support from neighbours being the most prominent effects. This has major implications for the provision of services to the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]