Social Capital during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Case of the Island of Menorca

Emergent Social Capital during the Coronavirus Pandemic in the United States in Hispanics/Latinos

The coronavirus pandemic has drastically impacted many groups that have been socially and economically marginalized such as Hispanics/Latinos in the United States (U.S.). Our aim was to understand how bonding social capital, bridging social capital, and trust played a role in Hispanics/Latinos over the course of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as explore the negative consequences of social capital. We performed focus group discussions via Zoom (n = 25) between January and December 2021 with Hispanics/Latinos from Baltimore, MD, Washington, DC, and New York City, NY. Our findings suggest that Hispanics/Latinos experienced bridging and bonding social capital. Of particular interest was how social capital permeated the Hispanic/Latino community's socioeconomic challenges during the pandemic. The focus groups revealed the importance of trust and its role in vaccine hesitancy. Additionally, the focus groups discussed the dark side of social capital including caregiving burden and spread of misinformation. We also identified the emergent theme of racism. Future public health interventions should invest in social capital, especially for groups that have been historically marginalized or made vulnerable, and consider the promotion of bonding and bridging social capital and trust. When prospective disasters occur, public health interventions should support vulnerable populations that are overwhelmed with caregiving burden and are susceptible to misinformation.

Did States With More Social Capital Pre-pandemic Offer Mental Health Protection During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Cross-Sectional View

Background

Social capital is a well-known health determinant with both relational and geographic aspects. It can help mitigate adverse events and has been shown to impact behaviors and responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health has declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, and social capital, may serve to buffer those declines.

Methods

Building from this, we assessed whether pre-pandemic social capital and contemporaneous social policy, which included indicators of social trust, civic participation, and presence of mask mandates, affected pandemic mental health, measured as the percent of the population experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety at the state level.

Results

Generalized social trust and state mask mandates were significantly associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety. Conversely, states with greater civic engagement prior to the pandemic experienced more anxiety and depression.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that existing social capital, particularly social trust, may protect against anxiety and depression and contribute to community resilience during times of adversity. States should invest in policies and programs that increase social trust.