Society and relationships · 1 min read
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 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.
The key idea
Trust among residents went along with fewer infections. The same relationship was not seen for trust in institutions.
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.