Ensuring the health and well-being of Latinas is critical given the size of the population and its rapid growth across the United States. Social capital may be a tool for alleviating some of the individual, neighborhood, and societal challenges that Latina immigrants face. This study uses bivariate tests and multivariate regression to assess the association between social capital and self-efficacy among Latina immigrants in the Midwest (N = 94). Self-efficacy was positively correlated with bonding and bridging social capital. Findings from a multiple regression model indicate that bonding and bridging social capital are significantly associated with self-efficacy after adjusting for the effect of related covariates. Public health interventions may benefit from building and fostering bonding and bridging social capital among immigrants as way to improve self-efficacy, promote health, and enhance public health practice.
Keywords: Latinas; Social capital; community development; immigrant social networks; public health practice.