Family cultural health capital: A grounded theory study

The family is a fundamental social institution that shapes the foundation of individuals' lifelong knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. It plays a multifaceted role, ranging from the transmission of education and social values to the formation of everyday practices and health-related habits. This research aims to deeply examine the role of the family institution in the formation of an individual's health and disease knowledge and habits in these areas.The research was conducted using a qualitative methodology, specifically the grounded theory design. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview form developed based on literature review and expert opinions. The study was carried out with 25 young adult nursing students who were selected using criterion and theoretical sampling strategies and had high levels of health literacy. The data set, consisting of 221 pages and 116,471 words obtained through the interviews, was analyzed using Strauss and Corbin's (1998) systematic grounded theory approach via the MAXQDA software. The coding process included open, axial, and selective coding and was structured based on the conditional-consequential matrix proposed by Strauss and Corbin (1998). The core category of the resulting theoretical model is "mother", and the theoretical structure explaining the transmission of health-related habits is conceptualized as "family cultural health capital" as a form of capital that is shaped through the experience of motherhood and acquired by the individual during the socialization process within the family, rather than through (formal) health literacy, and incorporated into the habitus. In the study, the health habits acquired by individuals from their families were classified under eight thematic headings: nutrition, therapeutic, protective and preventive, sports and exercise, body, addiction, hygiene and personal care, and sleep. The findings also reveal that health behaviors acquired within the family manifest in individuals in diverse ways. While some individuals exhibit a normative form of transmission by adopting, rather than questioning, the health practices they acquire from their families, others transform these practices into a hybrid structure by blending them with modern health knowledge and individual experience. Conversely, individuals who critically examine the health behaviors they acquire from their families and find them unsustainable often reject these transmissions and discontinue their practice. The findings demonstrate that the family is an active actor in the intergenerational transmission of health behaviors, providing both information and reproducing values and norms, shaping individual health practices. The family cultural health capital, which derives its basis from the mother, stands out as a multidimensional learning and transfer area shaped in line with gender roles and cultural norms. The results indicate that cultural transmission processes should be considered in health education and policy development and offer unique recommendations for health professionals, educators, and researchers.