The Weakness of Social Capital and the Challenge of Bureauphobia in Iran

The depreciation of social capital among citizens, as well as between citizens and governments, can foster a negative attitude towards the government among citizens, irrespective of governmental performance. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between bureauphobia and social capital. The research has been done in terms of purpose, applied, and descriptive-correlational methodology. In this study, the prevalence of bureauphobia and the level of social capital were assessed through a survey conducted among citizens using a questionnaire. Subsequently, the relationship between these two variables was explored. The study population comprised all citizens aged 18 to 70 who had visited a public sector organization at least once in the past year. A sample of these individuals was selected using the convenience sampling method, and they were administered the questionnaire. The research instrument utilized was the bureaucracy-phobia questionnaire developed by Molavi et al. (2017), alongside social capital indicators by Onyx & Bullen (2000). Content validity and reliability were ensured through Cronbach's alpha method. Out of the respondents, 394 completed the research questionnaire, a sample size deemed sufficient based on Morgan's table given the unlimited population size. Data analysis involved constructing a contingency table and employing the Chi-square test. Results indicated that 21.21 percent of respondents exhibited bureauphobic tendencies, while 44.95 percent had weak social capital. Moreover, findings revealed a significant negative relationship between social capital and bureauphobia. Hence, it can be inferred that a decrease in social capital correlates with an increase in negative perceptions unrelated to government