The Relationship between Social Capital and Political Participation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between social capital and political participation. The calibration method was used in this study. The population of the research was the staff of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Customs of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1394. The sample size was 200 participants. The sampling method was simple random sampling to access the participants easily. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. To measure the political participation among staff, 22 items was used. The questionnaire was divided into five levels: participation in voting, electoral activities, contact with politicians, protest activities of political groups, and membership in political groups. A questionnaire was used to measure the social capital, includes 19 items and three dimensions; social trust, social participation and social links. Face and content validity of the questionnaire were evaluated by experts. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated for each variable over 7/0, and reliability was approved. To analyze the data, t- student test of one sample and the stepwise multiple regressions was used at a significance level that was less than 05/0, through SPSS 19. The results showed that the average political participation and all aspects of social capital was above the average for a given (3). This indicates that the level of political participation and the social capital in the study population was in good condition. As well, the results showed that, totally, three independent variables (social belonging, social participation and social trust) formed 35.5 percent of the dependent variables.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2s1p136