Counties with greater community trust recorded fewer infections
Across more than 2,700 US counties, they also recorded fewer deaths. Institutional trust showed no such link with infections.
The key idea
Trust among residents went along with fewer infections. The same relationship was not seen for trust in institutions.
The study, in plain language
During an emergency, shared rules and willingness to cooperate could change how a community responds. To explore this idea, the team compared data from more than 2,700 US counties during the pandemic with local measures of trust, norms, and cooperation.
Counties with greater community trust and cooperation tended to record fewer cumulative infections and fewer deaths. When the dimensions were examined separately, trust in institutions did not show the same relationship with infections.
The pattern appears at the county level and distinguishes two kinds of trust: trust among residents and trust placed in institutions. The measure for counties where residents’ friends lived did not add a relationship beyond that of residents’ own county.
What they found
- Counties with more community trust and cooperation tended to record fewer infections and deaths.
- Trust in institutions showed no visible relationship with infections, unlike the community-level measures.
- Trust and cooperation in the counties where residents’ friends lived added no relationship beyond that of residents’ own county.
How they studied it
The team compared more than 2,700 US counties without intervening. They matched measures of each county’s trust, shared norms, and cooperation with cumulative COVID-19 outcomes. Because this is an ecological comparison between counties, it cannot establish causality or be applied directly to individuals.
What the study cannot show
- Other county-level factors may explain some of the differences.
- Relationships between counties do not show that community trust or cooperation caused those outcomes.
Something to think about
Think about your neighborhood: how much trust is there among neighbors, and how much in institutions? They are different things, and the study found different patterns for each.
The original study
How social capital helps communities weather the COVID-19 pandemic
Source under CC0 1.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
One study alone does not represent a field's consensus. Educational content does not replace professional advice. Report a possible error.
