Impact of Economic, Social, and Cultural Capital on Self-Rated Health of Older Adults in an Indian City.

Abstract

A rapid increase in ageing population across the globe has made it necessary for countries to focus on the health and well-being of older adults. City-level data on ageing is limited in the context of developing countries. The present study examines the associations between Bourdieu's core forms of capital (economic, cultural, and social) and self-rated health of older adults aged 60 and above, in Lucknow city, India. The study employs a multistage cluster sampling design. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 410 respondents aged 60 years and older, between May 2023 to August 2023. Ordered logistic regression is used to assess the associations between all three forms of capital and self-rated health of older adults after controlling for their gender, caste and religious group, age group, overall fitness, and recreational participation. In the full model, high levels of social support from informal ties, and higher levels of cultural capital (higher education and cultural engagement) are associated with better self-rated health, while economic capital is not significant once social and cultural capital are accounted for. This study highlights the role of neighbourhood social capital and cultural engagement as possible intervention mechanisms for improving the health of older adults, which is key to policy and practice for achieving the goal of active ageing.