Japan Society for the Promotion of Machine Industry, Tokyo, Japan.
Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Inquiry. 2021 Jan-Dec;58:469580211005189. doi: 10.1177/00469580211005189.
The threat of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is increasing. Regarding the differences in the infection rate observed in each region, additionally to studies investigating the causes of differences in population density as a proxy for social distancing, an increasing trend of studies investigating the causes of differences in social capital has also been seen (ie, value sharing, acceptance of norms, unity, and trust through reciprocity). However, studies investigating whether social capital that controls the effects of population density also influences the infection rate are limited. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the relationship between infection rate, population density, and social capital using statistical data of Japan's every prefecture. Statistical analysis showed that social capital not only negatively correlates with infection rates and population densities, but also negatively correlates with infection rates controlling for the effects of population density. Additionally, controlling the relationship between the variables by mean age showed that social capital had a greater correlation with infection rate than population density. In other words, social capital mediates the relationship between population density and infection rates, indicating that social distancing alone is not enough to deter coronavirus disease; social capital needs to be recharged.
冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的威胁正在增加。关于每个地区观察到的感染率差异，除了研究人口密度差异作为社交距离的替代指标的原因外，研究社会资本差异原因的趋势也在增加（即通过互惠共享价值观、接受规范、团结和信任）。然而，研究控制人口密度影响的社会资本是否也会影响感染率的研究有限。因此，在这项研究中，我们使用日本每个县的统计数据分析了感染率、人口密度和社会资本之间的关系。统计分析表明，社会资本不仅与感染率和人口密度呈负相关，而且在控制人口密度影响的情况下，与感染率也呈负相关。此外，通过平均年龄控制变量之间的关系表明，社会资本与感染率的相关性大于人口密度。换句话说，社会资本调节了人口密度和感染率之间的关系，这表明仅仅保持社交距离不足以阻止冠状病毒病；需要重新建立社会资本。
