Social capital, social cohesion, and COVID-19

Abstract

When it comes to population health outcomes, social cohesion and social capital are often characterized as being a double-edged sword. The COVID-19 pandemic provides an illustrative case study of this thesis. On the one hand, evidence has emerged that more cohesive societies have been more effective in enforcing health-protective norms, such as consistent mask-wearing and maintaining physical distancing. On the other hand, there is also evidence to suggest that some indicators of social capital-such as social participation and informal socializing between members of a community-are associated with higher rates of COVID infection. At the same time, social distancing policies adopted during the pandemic have been projected to give rise to an epidemic of social isolation, loneliness, and mental illness. This chapter summarizes the conflicting evidence on social capital and COVID outcomes, and discusses the potential for social capital to mitigate population health impacts.