Social capital and vulnerability from the family, neighborhood, school, and community perspectives.

Abstract

This article reviews research and offers program examples for developing social capital in youth with a range of vulnerabilities: emotional, physical, social, and developmental. Protective factors provided by developing social capital at the individual level include access to support networks, transition to employment, and community connectedness. The authors feature approaches from the cooperative extension system, which links university and community resources, and identify exemplary programs that support social capital development by intervening with families, schools, neighborhoods, and communities.