Class Background Reflects on the Abundance of Social Relationships and level of subjective well-being in Finland (Doctoral defence: MA Minna Tuominen, 29.11.2024, Sociology)

Social relationships are formed unequally according to class background even in relatively egalitarian Finland, as shown in Minna Tuominen’s doctoral research. Particularly trust, which is strongly linked to well-being, varies by social class, accumulating more among the highly educated and better-off classes. Especially vulnerable are those in lower education and income groups, as well as immigrants, who often rely on relatively fewer social relationships.

Master of Arts, Minna Tuominen studied the significance of social capital in Finland in her dissertation at the University of Turku’s research flagship, INVEST. She examined social capital through the lens of Robert Putnam’s theory, which defines social capital as a dominant way of relating to others, both familiar and unfamiliar.

Although Finland is often regarded as a country of social equality in international comparisons, social capital tends to concentrate in classes with higher levels of education and income. In these groups, both close partnerships and more casual hobby-based connections are substantially more prevalent. Also, the level of trust is higher in these classes, Tuominen explains.

The lowest levels of social capital are found in so-called working-class occupations. Class disparities are most pronounced in trust, especially towards societal institutions but also in interpersonal trust. Only in the case of reciprocal assistance were no class differences observed between groups.

Among the foreign-born population, education and income levels play an even greater role than in the so-called majority population. Only one in four immigrants has abundant social capital, while one in three faces scarcity of it,” Tuominen notes.

The importance of education is evident among foreign-born groups. Highly educated immigrants accumulate significantly more social capital than those with lower levels of education. For both educational groups, a satisfactory income level and proficiency in Finnish or Swedish are related to increased accumulation of social capital.

Social capital is not inherited but passed down through example

In her dissertation, Tuominen used three nationally representative survey datasets collected in Finland (Children’s Worlds, the European Social Survey, and THL’s FinMonik), which she complemented with a survey collected among sixth graders and their parents in Turku, Raisio, Kaarina, and Parainen to investigate the connection between the social capital of parents and children.

The results indicate that social capital is linked to perceived well-being primarily due to the trust and reciprocal assistance embedded in social relationships, Tuominen says.
According to Tuominen, this connection appears very similar in both early adolescence and adulthood.

For well-being, family relationships during pre-adolescence and intimate partnerships in adulthood are the most crucial. The study also highlighted that trust and reciprocity are particularly important for young people with lower levels of life satisfaction.

“Comparisons between the social capital of parents and children showed no direct link between the generations. Social capital, therefore, does not seem to transfer from parents to children as biological or physiological traits might. However, children’s perceptions of how their parents interact with others appear to reflect in their own social interactions,” Tuominen explains.

She found that children’s observations of their parents’ openness to others are associated with the children’s own trust and willingness to help other people.

“Societal actors, such as schools and organizations responsible for integration measures, should strive to enhance cooperation, trust, and reciprocity between different groups,” Tuominen suggests.

In the survey data collected by Tuominen, the family’s socioeconomic status did not show a direct link to the social capital of pre-adolescent youth. However, socioeconomic background is related to the social capital of parents, which in turn relates to the youth.

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MA Minna Tuominen will publicly defend her dissertation, “Value of Social Capital. Revisiting Theoretical and Empirical Premises of Social Capital,” at the University of Turku on Friday, November 29, 2024, at 12:00 PM (University of Turku, Publicum, Pub2 Lecture Hall, Assistentinkatu 7, Turku).

The event will be conducted in Finnish.

> The public can also participate in the defence remotely

The opponent will be Docent Antti Kouvo (University of Eastern Finland) and the custos will be Associate Professor Elina Kilpi-Jakonen (University of Turku). The field of the dissertation is sociology.

>> The dissertation is available in the university’s publication archive 

Doctoral programme on Inequalities, Interventions and New Welfare State (DPInvest)