Social capital and gender: Structured use of health-related services among people with HIV/AIDS in New York City

This study has three aims; developing the concept of social capital in sociology theory, investigating gender differences in social capital and patterns of service utilization among people living with HIV/AIDS, and explaining differences in service utilization using the concept of social capital.; I first tried to develop social capital as an analytical concept in sociology by addressing six theoretical questions. Through the arguments, I defined social capital as "the general resources embedded in social relationships generated by various social structures," which is a value-neutral, measurable sociological concept that possesses explanatory power.; The second aim was investigating gender differences in social capital and the patterns of service utilization. This study shows that HIV/AIDS status impacts women's social capital more than men's. Women had less interpersonal and neighborhood based social capital than men, but had similar organizational social capital as that of men. The analyses on service utilization showed that women had more unmet service needs and were more reluctant to use neighborhood services than men, but women used health and social services and contacted diverse service providers as often as men.; The third aim was to verify service utilization as socially constructed patterns of decision making or social actions shaped by structured interactions or networks, using the concept of social capital. These study findings verify the role of social capital as an informational source and as something that affects social norms. HIV related social relationships provide sources of information on health and social services, helping respondents to choose service providers and acknowledge available local services. Social capital also increase service use and decrease the gap between service needs and unmet needs. This study also finds that persons with more HIV related social capital had significantly less unwillingness to use neighborhood services and so used service providers close to their places of residence, demonstrating the role of social capital as a channel of social norms that decreases stigma and helps people cope with the problems of living with HIV/AIDS.