Association between social capital and COVID-19 preventive behaviors: Country-level ecological study

BACKGROUND: The association between social capital and preventive behaviors against COVID-19 remains controversial. We examined the association between social capital and preventive behaviors against COVID-19 at country level. METHODS: The data on country-level social capital (i.e., social trust, group affiliations, civic responsibility, and confidence in state institutions) was obtained from a previous literature based on World Value Survey. Preventive behaviors were calculated as the percentage of people in a country who took COVID-19 preventive behaviors (i.e., physical distancing, hand hygiene, and the use of face mask) from an international survey of Facebook users, from July to October 2020 (207 data points for 9 waves of 23 countries). The scores on social capital were standardized. The association was investigated with multilevel linear regression analysis. RESULTS: High civic responsibility (per 1 standard deviation, SD) was associated with low percentage points of physical distancing (β = −4.66, 95% confidence interval, CI: 7.23, −2.09), hand hygiene (β = −2.88, 95% CI: 3.98, −1.78) and the use of face mask (β = −3.95, 95% CI: 5.29, −2.62). Group affiliations were associated with high percentage points of physical distancing (β = 2.96, 95% CI: 0.35, 5.58) and the use of face mask (β = 1.80, 95% CI: 0.45, 3.16). Social trust had significant positive association with performing hand hygiene (β = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.09, 2.35). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that in countries with higher levels of civic responsibility, preventive behaviors should be more intensified during a pandemic.