Household typology and family social capital among white British and Pakistani women in Bradford, England

Objectives: International evidence suggests positive close relationships with household members (family social capital) can improve wellbeing; however, mixed effects for associations between the number of household members and generational status (household typology) have been found. Further, it is unclear how family social capital and household typology might vary between families of different ethnic origins.

Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: The Born in Bradford cohort study. Participants: We used data from that including Pakistani (n=1772) and White British (n=1859) women.

Main Outcome Measures: Household typologies and four measures of family social capital (I wish there was more warmth/affection; I feel closely attached to my family; My family takes notice of me; I feel excluded in my family; all binary variables). Results: We found that household typology was largely not significantly associated with family social capital measures, with some exceptions (women living with child only, women living with child and parents only, p<0.05). Pakistani women were more likely to report low family social capital (OR between 1.72 and 3.32, p<0.05) and this was significantly associated with financial insecurity and living in extended families.

Conclusion: This study suggests the relationship between household typology and family social capital is complex and varies across ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Pakistani women were more likely to report low family social capital while living in the UK compared to the White British.