Communication as Precursor and Consequence of Subjective Social Capital in Older People: A New Perspective on the Communication Predicament Model

Abstract

Social capital, or the connections between people that promote the sharing of norms and values, has value in that it can be used to access resources and it creates well-being through a sense of connectedness. Social capital is particularly important to older people, who experience a reduction in personal relationships as they age. Further, it has been demonstrated repeatedly that social capital is associated with positive health outcomes, particularly for older people. There are both objective and subjective dimensions of social capital and, while the benefits of objective social capital have been thoroughly studied, the subjective dimension is less understood. Using the Communication Predicament Model (CPM) as a theoretical framework, the goal of the current paper was to understand the factors that contribute to older people's subjective social capital. The authors propose that communication is central to the process of building social capital for older citizens and that, in turn, elderly people's perception of their social capital influences their communication. This paper proposes a modification to the CPM and identifies potential areas of application.