The Impact of Social Capital on School Adaptation of Adolescents Who Experienced the COVID-19 Pandemic: Bonding and Bridging Social Capital

The purpose of this study is to find the impact of social capital on school adaptation of youth who have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and to study alternatives. Targeting youth currently attending high school, 631 cases were analyzed using SPSS 28.0 through direct interviews and structured surveys over a three-week period from November 5 to November 24, 2023. As a result of the analysis, bonding social capital includes trust, network, family, peers, and teachers. Factors were significant, and for bridging social capital, both size and density were significant. Bonding social capital has a high ability to adapt to school through relationships with others, and bridging social capital has a close impact on school adaptation depending on the size and density of resources possessed by youth. A few suggestions are based on the above results. First, a capacity-building program should be operated to strengthen bonding social capital centered on relationships, and opportunities to strengthen social capital should be provided by utilizing club activities. Second, it is necessary to develop indicators that can verify the degree of relationship necessary for adolescents' school adaptation. Third, it is necessary to develop a manual that can effectively screen and select the size and density of youth's bridging social capital.