Social Capital Dimensions are Differentially Associated with COVID-19 Vaccinations, Masks, and Physical Distancing *

Abstract

Background Social capital has been associated with health outcomes in communities and can explain variations in different geographic localities. Social capital has also been associated with behaviors that promote better health and reduce the impacts of diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing, face masking, and vaccination have all been essential in controlling contagion. These behaviors have not been uniformly adopted by communities in the United States. Using different facets of social capital to explain the differences in public behaviors among communities during pandemics is lacking. Objective This study examines the relationship among public health behavior, vaccination, face masking, and physical distancing during COVID-19 pandemic and social capital indices in counties in the United States. Methods We used publicly available vaccination data as of June 2021, face masking data in July 2020, and mobility data from mobile phones movements from the end of March 2020. Then, correlation analysis was conducted with county-level social capital index and its subindices (family unity, community health, institutional health, and collective efficacy) that were obtained from the Social Capital Project by the United States Senate. Results We found the social capital index and its subindices differentially correlate with different public health behaviors. Vaccination is associated with institutional health: positively with fully vaccinated population and negatively with vaccination hesitancy. Also, wearing masks negatively associates with community health, whereases reduced mobility associates with better community health. Further, residential mobility positively associates with family unity. By comparing correlation coefficients, we find that social capital and its subindices have largest effect sizes on vaccination and residential mobility. Conclusion Our results show that different facets of social capital are significantly associated with adoption of protective behaviors, e.g., social distancing, face masking, and vaccination. As such, our results suggest that differential facets of social capital imply a Swiss cheese model of pandemic control planning where, e.g., institutional health and community health, provide partially overlapping behavioral benefits.

The Role of Civic Capital During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Our paper contributes to a growing literature connecting social norms and individual behavior such as vaccination decisions or compliance to measures against the spread of infectious diseases [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] . Our results are consistent with the idea that civicminded individuals internalize more than others the effects of their actions on the diffusion patterns of an infectious disease and adapt their behavior accordingly.…”

The Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Mental Health Patient Populations: Evidence from Medical Claims Data

“…Mental health has been related to social capital on individual and community levels [37, 5]. Indeed, good social capital plays a role in promoting healthier public behaviors, especially during COVID-19, social capital has been associated with higher levels of vaccination rates, self-isolation, and face masking [21]. The risk of mental health degradation goes beyond to impact the advantage of social capital in the face of viral diseases.…”