Social Science & Medicine 62 (2006) 165–175 Toward a neighborhood resource-based theory of social capital for health: Can Bourdieu and sociology help? Richard M. Carpiano à Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 707 WARF Office Building, 610 North Walnut Street, Madison, WI 53726 2397, USA Available online 1 July 2005 Abstract Within the past several years, a considerable body of research on social capital has emerged in public health. Although offering the potential for new insights into how community factors impact health and well being, this research has received criticism for being undertheorized and methodologically flawed. In an effort to address some of these limitations, this paper applies Pierre Bourdieu’s (1986) [Bourdieu, P. (1986). Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). New York: Greenwood] social capital theory to create a conceptual model of neighborhood socioeconomic processes, social capital (resources inhered within social networks), and health. After briefly reviewing the social capital conceptualizations of Bourdieu and Putnam, I attempt to integrate these authors’ theories to better understand how social capital might operate within neighborhoods or local areas. Next, I describe a conceptual model that incorporates this theoretical integration of social capital into a framework of neighborhood social processes as health determinants. Discussion focuses on the utility of this Bourdieu-based neighborhood social capital theory and model for examining several under-addressed issues of social capital in the neighborhood effects literature and generating specific, empirically testable hypotheses for future research. r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Social capital; Social epidemiology; Theory; Social determinants; Neighborhoods; Bourdieu Introduction Within the past several years, there has been a rapid emergence of research on social capital within the social epidemiological literature (e.g., Kawachi, Kennedy, & Glass, 1999; Lochner, Kawachi, & Kennedy, 1999; Lomas, 1998; Rose, 2000; Veenstra, 2000). Although offering potential for new insights regarding how socioeconomic factors impact health, particularly at the neighborhood or local area level, this research has also drawn significant criticism for theoretical and methodological shortcomings, leading some to question the relevance of such evidence to individual and population health (see Forbes & Wainwright, 2001; Hawe & Shiell, 2000; Macinko & Starfield, 2001; Muntaner, Lynch, & Davey Smith, 2001; Pearce & Smith, 2003). In an effort to address these problems, researchers have called for studies that use more incisive theoretical formulations (e.g., Baum, 2000; Fassin, 2003; Muntaner & Lynch, 2002). Existing studies have almost exclusively relied upon Putnam’s (1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001) conceptualization of social capital, which consists of features such as interpersonal trust, norms of reciprocity, and social engagement that foster commu- nity and social participation and can be used to impact a number of beneficial outcomes, including health. ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/socscimed 0277-9536/$ - see front matter r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.05.020 à Tel.: +1 608 890 0200; fax: +1 608 263 2820. E-mail address: carpiano@wisc.edu.