# Social Affiliation, Social Capital, and Longitudinal Adaptation to COVID-19 Economic Stress

> **NIH NIH SC3** · PACE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK · 2022 · $110,158

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Lockdowns and other public health measures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
have had profound social and economic consequences. In the United States, over 10 million jobs have
been lost in 2020, and some regions, industries, and demographic groups have been particularly hard hit.
Moreover, lockdowns have substantially limited the capacity for in-person social interaction with close
others and “weak ties,” peripheral members of our social network who contribute to everyday well-being.
These kinds of regularized social interactions have potent effects on mental health. Thus, it is especially
important to understand the broader contextual forces that influence them. In social-contextual
environments that are more trusting and cooperative, social-affiliative behavior is more likely to result
from economic stress, leading to increased capacities for stress resistance. By contrast, social-contextual
environments that are perceived as less trusting and cooperative may inhibit the use of social affiliation,
depriving people of a potent source of emotion regulation and well-being. The proposed project will
examine the interplay of broader social-contextual factors and individual social behaviors in response to
COVID-19-related economic stress. A multilevel longitudinal framework will be used in conjunction with
a quasi-experimental design involving COVID-19 economic impact (High vs. Low) and social capitol
(High vs. Low). This work can provide crucial insight into the economic impact of COVID-19 with
substantial implications for the mental health and happiness of human beings across the globe.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10334112
- **Project number:** 1SC3GM144191-01
- **Recipient organization:** PACE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK
- **Principal Investigator:** Anthony Dickinson Mancini
- **Activity code:** SC3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $110,158
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10334112

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10334112, Social Affiliation, Social Capital, and Longitudinal Adaptation to COVID-19 Economic Stress (1SC3GM144191-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10334112. Licensed CC0.

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