Social capital and the number of children's cafeterias (kodomo shokudo) in Japan: a longitudinal ecological analysis.

Abstract

Background: In Japan, community-driven dining spaces known as children's cafeterias (kodomo shokudo) have increased rapidly. Despite their rapid expansion, the role of social environmental factors in the development of children's cafeterias, particularly social capital, has received limited empirical attention. We examined the association between social capital and changes in the number of children's cafeterias in Japan.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal ecological study. The outcome was the change in the number of children's cafeterias per municipality between 2020 and 2022. Social capital indicators (trust in neighbors, norm of reciprocity, trust in the national government, neighborhood ties, and social participation) were derived from a nationwide internet survey.

Results: A total of 512 local municipalities were analyzed. Multiple regression analyses showed that higher neighborhood trust was positively associated with increases in the number of children's cafeterias, whereas denser neighborhood ties were inversely associated with such increases.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that cognitive and structural dimensions of social capital may operate differently in the diffusion of children's cafeterias. These results indicate that community social contexts are associated with the spread of child-focused initiatives.