AIDSQuest: The HIV/AIDS Survey Library
Behavioral and Social Theories Commonly Used
in HIV Research

E. Social Capital Theory

Social Capital Theory, developed by Robert D. Putnam, asserts that social life—networks, norms, and trust—enable participants to act together more effectively to pursue shared objectives. Therefore, HIV/AIDS programs that promote social cohesion, social inclusion, and strengthen a community’s ability to intervene on its own behalf (similar to collective efficacy) will be more likely to succeed than those that bypass these principles. Social capital is operationalized on two milieus: sociocultural (degree of interaction within members of a social circle) and institutional infrastructure (presence of community organizations and their ability to act on behalf of the community).

Kreuter, M.W. and N. Lezin. 2002. “Social Capital Theory: Implications for community-based health promotion,” in R.J. DiClemente,  R.A. Crosby, and M.C. Kegler (eds.), Emerging Theories in Health Promotion Practice and Research. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publications, pp. 228–254.