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

Author

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  • Ester Villalonga-Olives

    (Pharmaceutical Health Services Research Department, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA)

  • Ichiro Kawachi

    (Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA)

  • Ildefonso Hernández-Aguado

    (Department of Public Health, History of Science and Gynecology, Miguel Hernández University and CIBER de Epidemilogía y Salud Pública, 03550 Alicante, Spain)

Abstract

The rapidly evolving coronavirus pandemic has drastically altered the economic and social lives of people throughout the world. Our overall goal is to understand the mechanisms through which social capital shaped the community response to the pandemic on the island of Menorca, Spain, which was under a strict lockdown in 2020. Between April and June 2020, we performed qualitative interviews ( n = 25) of permanent residents of the island. From the findings, it is evident that social capital is an important resource with the capacity to organize help and support. However, the dark sides of social capital, with lack of social cohesion and lack of trust, also emerged as an important negative issue. We identified sources of tension that were not resolved, as well as important sociodemographic differences that are primary drivers for health inequalities. The investment in social networks and social capital is a long-term need that should consider sociodemographic vulnerability.

Suggested Citation

  • Ester Villalonga-Olives & Ichiro Kawachi & Ildefonso Hernández-Aguado, 2021. "Social Capital during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Case of the Island of Menorca," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12720-:d:693556
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bargain, Olivier & Aminjonov, Ulugbek, 2020. "Trust and compliance to public health policies in times of COVID-19," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    2. Catalina Bolancé & Jordi Caïs & Diego Torrente, 2018. "“Trust in times of economic crisis in Spain: Paradoxes for social capital theory”," IREA Working Papers 201830, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Dec 2018.
    3. Villalonga-Olives, E. & Kawachi, I., 2017. "The dark side of social capital: A systematic review of the negative health effects of social capital," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 105-127.
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