Family-based social capital considerations as predictors of attainments among Appalachian youth

The purpose of this study was to explore social and human capital theory in application to status attainment research using a sample of 463 low-income youth from rural Appalachian families. Comparisons were made between social capital variables based in the family of origin and social interaction variables based in the broader community as influences on the status attainment of youth. Surveys of youth were conducted during a ten-year longitudinal study (i.e., three assessments conducted during fifth/sixth grades and eleventh/twelfth grades, and for ages twenty-one/twenty-two). Path analyses confirmed some of the social interaction hypotheses but demonstrated eve greater support for individual human and family social capital variables in explaining young adult attainment outcomes. Support was provided for the inclusion of family-based social capital variables as a means of gaining a broader understanding of youth attainment.