Is neighborhood sense of community good for mental health in a pandemic? Paradoxical findings from longitudinal analyses of Wisconsin health survey

Social capital is known to function as a protective buffer during disasters and crises. This study examines the relationship between neighborhood-level sense of community–a social capital indicator–and mental health before and after widespread COVID-19 vaccine distribution. It uses health survey data from community-dwelling adults in Wisconsin (n = 2048), a series of longitudinal analyses (Generalized Estimating Equation), adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic status, between neighborhood sense of community and mental health across two timepoints. Before the vaccines, participants with strong sense of community showed significantly lower prevalence of symptoms of depression (PR = 0.81; 95 % CI = 0.70, 0.94; p = 0.004) and anxiety (PR = 0.88; 95 % CI = 0.79, 0.99; p = 0.03), compared to participants with neutral sense of community. After the vaccines, however, the protective effect drastically diminished for both depressive symptoms (PR for interaction = 1.76; 95 % CI = 1.38, 2.25; p < 0.001) and anxiety symptoms (PR for interaction = 1.42; 95 % CI = 1.16, 1.73; p < 0.001). This study yields intriguing and somewhat paradoxical findings that challenge a conventional assumption that social capital–as measured by sense of community at the neighborhood level–protects people during an infectious disease outbreak. The results highlight that neighborhood-level sense of community functioned as a protective buffer early in the pandemic but offered significantly less protection once there was a sense of normalcy with loosened pandemic restrictions and more in-person socializing. Such nuanced results offer insights on the multifaceted nature of social capital, particularly complex and dynamic role of neighborhood sense of community, which may provide insights for future interventions during challenging times.