Glossary.
Community Capital: Also known as “social capital”, the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively.
It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interpersonal relationships, a shared sense of identity, a shared understanding, shared norms, shared values, trust, cooperation, and reciprocity. Social capital is a measure of the value of resources, both tangible (e.g., public spaces, private property) and intangible (e.g., actors, human capital, people), and the impact that these relationships have on the resources involved in each relationship, and on larger groups. It is generally seen as a form of capital that produces public goods for a common purpose.
Cultural Competence: A range of cognitive, affective, and behavioural skills that lead to effective and appropriate communication with people of other cultures.
Individuals who are effective and appropriate in intercultural situations display high levels of cultural self-awareness and understand the influence of culture on behaviour, values, and beliefs. Self-awareness in intercultural interactions requires self-monitoring to censor anything not acceptable to another culture. Cultural sensitivity or cultural awareness leads the individual to an understanding of how their own culture determines feelings, thoughts, and personality.
Prosocial Behaviour: Actions with the intent to benefit others. A social behaviour that benefits other people or society as a whole, such as helping, sharing, donating, co-operating, and volunteering. Obeying the rules and conforming to socially accepted behaviours (such as stopping at a "Stop" sign or paying for groceries) are also regarded as prosocial behaviours. These actions may be motivated by empathy and by concern about the welfare and rights of others, as well as for egoistic or practical concerns, such as one's social status or reputation, hope for direct or indirect reciprocity, or adherence to one's perceived system of fairness.
Social Consciousness: The collective self-awareness and experience of collectively shared social identity. The “we feeling” or the “sense of us” may be experienced in members of various cultures and social groups. By the experience of collectively shared social identity, individuals may experience social unity. Social consciousness may also stimulate working towards a common goal.
Social Determinants of Health (SDOH): Refer to a specific group of social and economic factors within the broader determinants of health. These relate to an individual's place in society, such as income, education or employment. Experiences of discrimination, racism and historical trauma are important social determinants of health for certain groups such as Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ and Black Canadians. Determinants of health are the broad range of personal, social, economic and environmental factors that determine individual and population health. The main determinants of health include:
Income and social status
Employment and working conditions
Education and literacy
Childhood experiences
Physical environments
Social supports and coping skills
Healthy behaviours
Access to health services
Biology and genetic endowment
Gender
Culture
Race / Racism
Social Emotional Development: Represents a specific domain of child development. It is a gradual, integrative process through which children acquire the capacity to understand, experience, express, and manage emotions and to develop meaningful relationships with others. It encompasses a large range of skills and constructs, including, but not limited to: self-awareness, joint attention, play, theory of mind (or understanding others' perspectives), self-esteem, emotion regulation, friendships, and identity development.
Many mental health disorders, including major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, borderline personality disorder, substance use disorders, and eating disorders, can be conceptualized through the lens of social emotional development, most prominently emotion regulation.