Table 1 Selected Neighborhood Characteristics
Selected neighborhood characteristicsNeighborhood / Number of Inhabitants / Number of Households* / Poverty Rate
% / Years of Existence
HORIZONTE / 1870 / 374 / 58.7 / 10
OSCAR BONILLA / 2375 / 475 / 45.5 / 23
EUGENIO MATTE / 1540 / 308 / 23.9 / 45
SANTA MATILDE PONIENTE / 2000 / 400 / 21.4 / 12
Surveyed households and non-response rates for each neighborhood
Neighborhood / Target Sample Size
(Households) / Actual Sample Size / Non-response rate
Number / %
HORIZONTE / 190 / 201 / 31 / 13.4
OSCAR BONILLA / 213 / 216 / 36 / 14.3
EUGENIO MATTE / 171 / 167 / 57 / 25.4
SANTA MATILDE PONIENTE / 196 / 197 / 57 / 22.4
Total / 770 / 781 / 181 / 18.8
* Based on Census data reported by the Municipality of Puente Alto.
Table 2. Socio-demographic characteristics of the survey sample.
VariablesMean / Standard deviation
Age (years) / 45.53 / 15.66
Educational level (years of schooling) / 9.47 / 4.53
Number of people living in the household / 4.52 / 2.14
Frequency Distribution
Number of cases (percentage)
Gender / Women: 552 (70.9%) Men: 227 (29.1%)
Literacy / Able to read: Yes: 718 (96.0%) No: 30 (4.0%)
Able to write: Yes: 706 (90.8%) No: 39 (5.2%)
Ethnic identification / No: 680 (89.1%)
Yes: 93 (10.9%)
Mapuches: 84 (90.3%) Alacalufes: 4 (4.3%)
Collas: 2 (2.2%) Others: 3 (3.2%)
Religion / Catholic: 511 (66.1%) Evangelical: 115 (14.9%)
Jehovah`s Witness: 13 (1.7%) Other: 26 (3.4%)
None, agnostic or atheist: 108 (14.0%)
Marital status / Married: 383 (49.7%) Unmarried with partners: 103 (13.4%)
Single: 153 (19.9%) Widowed: 60 (7.8%)
Separated or Divorced: 71 (9.2%)
Occupation / Homemaker: 319 (41.2%) Student: 36 (4.6%)
Unemployed: 44 (5.7%) Services: 138 (17.8%)
Commerce: 71 (9.2%) Industry: 35 (4.5%)
Construction: 35 (4.5%) Other: 97 (12.5%)
Net monthly household income (US$) / None: 3 (0.4%) <95: 39 (5.1%)
95 to <190: 95 (12.4%) 190 to <380: 255 (33.2%)
380 to <571: 152 (19.8%) ≥571: 225 (29.3%)
Table 3 Principal Components Analysis of the Social Capital Instrument with Varimax Rotation
Mean (SD) / Factor Loading / Variance Explained / Cronbach’s alphaFactor 1: Perceived Trust in Neighbors
- People in this neighborhood are always more trustworthy than others
- You can trust most of the people in this neighborhood
- You can trust most people
- Perception of trust among people in your neighborhood
- Most people from your neighborhood would not take advantage of you, if they had the chance
- Someone who found your wallet would bring it back to you
3.42 (1.08)
1.37 (0.48)
2.31 (1.01)
3.52 (1.74)
1.41 (0.49)
1.85 (1.08) / 0.42
0.77
0.79
0.65
0.55
0.49 / 13.44 / 0.75*
Factor 2: Perceived Trust in Organizations
- Perception of trust in non religious organizations
- Perception of trust in religious organizations
- Perception of trust in municipal organizations
- Perception of trust in national government organizations
4.07 (1.96)
5.04 (2.05)
4.40 (2.01)
4.19 (1.97) / 0.64
0.73
0.76
0.75 / 11.70 / 0.77
Factor 3: Reciprocity within the Neighborhood
- People from the neighborhood will work together to resolve problems in case of an emergency (for example: an earthquake or a flood)
- There are neighbors in your neighborhood that would voluntarily help you in case you or any member of your family became sick
- You would leave your house key to a neighbor so he or she would take care of it, if you had to leave your house for a few days (because of travel or any other reason)
- Some neighbor would help you in case you were hit by a car
4.02 (1.07)
3.08 (1.24)
3.81 (1.21)
0.71 (0.45)
4.38 (0.75) / 0.49
0.49
0.71
0.60
0.66 / 10.09 / 0.64*
Factor 4: Neighborhood Integration
- You feel that you are important for this neighborhood
- You feel that your neighborhood is important for you
- You feel integrated within your neighborhood
2.68 (1.19)
3.43 (1.25)
2.85 (1.43) / 0.81
0.59
0.69 / 7.95 / 0.58
Factor 5: Social Participation
- Number of known organizations
- Number of organizations the respondent or someone in his/her family is member of
- Leadership position in some organization
1.46 (1.27)
0.44 (0.72)
7.69E-02 (0.27) / 0.53
0.78
0.70 / 7.65 / 0.58*
Higher scores indicate higher social capital in each particular domain.
*Standardized Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used because individual scaled items were not scaled the same.
Appendix 1. Questions Pertaining to Social Capital
Question / Kind of Variable(1) How many organizations that currently respond to the needs and problems of the community do you know? / Numeric, continuous
(2) In how many organizations do you, or someone in your household, claim membership? / Numeric, continuous
(3) Do you, or someone in your household, have a leadership position in some organization? / Categorical
0=No 1=yes
(4) How much do you agree or disagree with the next sentence: “The people in this neighborhood are always more trustworthy than others”? / Continuous
From: 1=Strongly disagree
to 5 =Strongly agree
(5) Speaking in general, would you say that you can or cannot trust most of the people from this neighborhood? / Categorical
1=Can not trust anybody
2= Can trust mostly everybody
(6) You would say you trust in… / Continuous
From: 1=Can not trust the people from this neighborhood
to 5=Most of the people in your neighborhood
(7) Qualify your perception of trust (how much do you trust?) in people from your neighborhood, in general. / Continuous from 1 to 7 (maximum trust)
(8) Qualify your perception of trust in non-religious organizations. / Continuous from 1 to 7 (maximum trust)
(9) Qualify your perception of trust in religious organizations. / Continuous from 1 to 7 (maximum trust)
(10) Qualify your perception of trust in municipal organizations. / Continuous from 1 to 7 (maximum trust)
(11) Qualify your perception of trust in national government organizations. / Continuous from 1 to 7 (maximum trust)
(12) How probable do you think is that people from your neighborhood will work together to resolve problems, in case of a local emergency (for example: an earthquake or a flood)? / Continuous
From: 1: Strongly improbable
to: 5: Strongly probable
(13) Would you say this neighborhood is a place where neighbors do really worry about each other? / Continuous
From: 1=Strongly disagree
to 5 =Strongly agree
(14) Do you think that most people from your neighborhood would or would not take advantage of you, if they had the chance? / Categorical
1= They would take advantage of me
2= They would try and be honest (not take advantage of me)
(15) In case you or any member of your family gets sick, do you think there are neighbors in your neighborhood that would voluntarily help you? / Continuous From: 1=Strongly Disagree
to 5 =Strongly Agree
(16) In case your coin purse or wallet fell out in your neighborhood, and someone found it, do you think he or she would take it back to you? / Continuous
From: 1= Strongly Disagree
to 5 = Strongly Agree
(17) If you had to leave your house alone for a few days (because of travel or any other reason), do you think you would leave your house key with neighbor so he or she would take care of it? / Categorical
0=No 1=Yes
(18) Do you think some neighbor would help you in case you were hit by a car while you were walking in your neighborhood and he or she saw the accident? / Continuous
From: 1= Strongly Disagree
to 5 = Strongly Agree
(19) How important do you think are you for the functioning of this neighborhood? / Continuous
From: 1= Very low important
to 5 = Very high important
(20) How important do you think is this neighborhood in your personal life? / Continuous
From: 1= Very low important
to 5 = Very high important
(21) How much integrated with your neighborhood do you feel yourself? / Continuous
From: 1= Excluded
to 5 = Totally integrated
Appendix 2. Odds Ratios (ORs) for Good Self-Rated Health, according to the 21 individual social capital items of the survey.
Question / Unadjusted Standardizeda OR(95% CI) / Adjustedb
Standardized a OR
(95% CI)
(1) How many organizations that currently respond to the needs and problems of the community do you know? / 0.93
(0.79-0.99) / 0.94
(0.78-0.99)
(2) In how many organizations do you, or someone in your household, claim membership? / 0.93
(0.68-1.03) / 0.92
(0.66-1.03)
(3) Do you, or someone in your household, have a leadership position in some organization? / 1.52
(0.67-1.98) / 1.39
(0.59-1.84)
(4) How much do you agree or disagree with the next sentence: “The people in this neighborhood are always more trustworthy than others”? / 1.13
(0.93-1.21) / 1.23
(0.99-1.3)
(5) Speaking in general, would you say that you can or cannot trust most of the people from this neighborhood? / 1.60
(1.02-1.84)
(reference category “Can not trust anybody”) / 1.68
(1.05-1.95)
(reference category “Can not trust anybody” )
(6) You would say you trust people in your neighborhood? / 1.32
(1.07-1.41) / 1.37
(1.10-1.48)
(7) How much do you trust people from your neighborhood, in general. / 1.20
(1.05-1.25) / 1.27
(1.10-1.33)
(8) How much do you trust non-religious organizations. / 1.08
(0.97-1.12) / 1.12
(0.99-1.16)
(9) How much do you trust religious organizations. / 1.04
(0.94-1.08) / 1,10
(0.98-1.15)
(10) Ho much do you trust municipal organizations. / 1.04
(0.93-1.07) / 1.09
(0.97-1.13)
(11) How much do you trust national government organizations. / 1.12
(1.00-1.16) / 1.15
(1.02-1.19)
(12) How probable do you think that people from your neighborhood will work together to resolve problems, in case of a local emergency (for example: an earthquake or a flood)? / 1.24
(1.02-1.32) / 1.27
(1.02-1.36)
(13) Would you say this neighborhood is a place where neighbors are concerned about each other? / 1.130.95-1.19) / 1.17(0.98-1.24)
(14) Do you think that most people from your neighborhood would or would not take advantage of you, if they had the chance? / 1.70
(1.10-1.96)
(reference group “They would take advantage of me” ) / 2.09
(1.3-2.44)
(reference group “They would take advantage of me” )
(15) In case you or any member of your family gets sick, do you think there are neighbors in your neighborhood that would voluntarily help you? / 1.11
(0.93-1.17) / 1.14
(0.95-1.21)
(16) In case you lost your wallet in your neighborhood, and someone found it, do you think he or she would bring it back to you? / 1.28
(1.05-1.36) / 1.29
(1.05-1.38)
(17) If you had to leave your house alone for a few days (because of travel or any other reason), do you think you would leave your house key with neighbor so he or she would take care of it? / 1.23
(0.77-1.44)
(reference group “No” ) / 1.22
(0.74-1.43)
(reference group “No” )
(18) Do you think some neighbor would help you in case you were hit by a car while you were walking in your neighborhood and he or she saw the accident? / 1.21
(0.92-1.32) / 1.21
(0.91-1.33)
(19) How important do you think are you for the functioning of this neighborhood? / 0.97
(0.81-1.02) / 1.04
(0.86-1.11)
(20) How important do you think is this neighborhood in your personal life? / 0.99
(0.83-1.04) / 1.10
(0.91-1.16)
(21) How much integrated with your neighborhood do you feel yourself? / 1.05
(0.90-1.10) / 1.10
(0.94-1.16)
a ORs for a 1.0 standard deviation change in each of the social capital items.
b Adjusted for age and sex.