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Marwan Khawaja, PhD, Sawsan Abdulrahim, PhD, Rima Afifi-Soweid, PhD, and Dima Karam, MPH. Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, PO Box 11-0236, Riad El Solh 1107-2020, Beirut, Lebanon, 961-1-350-000, ext. 4656, sawsana@aub.edu.lb

This study examines the association between social capital and self-rated health (SRH) among adolescents living in three poor communities outside Beirut, Lebanon, one of which is a Palestinian refugee camp. The analyses are based on data collected during the Spring of 2003 from a stratified random sample of 1,294 adolescents aged 13-19 years, drawn from a sampling frame constructed from area maps and detailed household listing of the target population. Descriptive statistics and odds ratios from logistic regression models were used to assess in each community surveyed (1) the stock of social capital along a number of dimensions (2) the association between a social capital index and SRH. Findings show that each of the three communities displayed a unique profile along the multiple social capital dimensions measured. Further, while higher scores on social capital – controlling for age, sex, and income – predicted better SRH in two of the three communities, it was not a strong predictor of improved SRH among adolescent residents in the Palestinian refugee camp. The study examines the implications of the findings, in light of the socio-political context in which Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live.

Learning Objectives:

• Review the literature on the association between social capital and self-rated health
• Describe the context in which the study was carried out (three poor suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon in the midst of post-war re-construction)
• Present findings from the study on the association between social capital and self-rated health in the three communities studied
• Focus on the "anomalous" finding on social capital's poor predictive power of self-rated health in one community (a Palestinian refugee camp)
• Discuss the findings within the broader socio-political context which Palestinian refugees face in Lebanon

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered