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Cited by 119Nonprofit Sector and VolunteeringCOVID-19 and Mental HealthCommunity Health and Development

The mental health benefits of community helping during crisis: Coordinated helping, community identification and sense of unity during the COVID‐19 pandemic

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Bowe, Mhairi, Wakefield, Juliet R. H., Kellezi, Blerina, Stevenson, Clifford, McNamara, Niamh, Jones, Bethany A., Sumich, Alex, Heym, Nadja·2022·Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology
DOI 10.1002/casp.2520PMC PMC8250747
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Abstract

Communities are vital sources of support during crisis, providing collective contexts for shared identity and solidarity that predict supportive, prosocial responses. The COVID‐19 pandemic has presented a global health crisis capable of exerting a heavy toll on the mental health of community members while inducing unwelcome levels of social disconnection. Simultaneously, lockdown restrictions have forced vulnerable community members to depend upon the support of fellow residents. Fortunately, voluntary helping can be beneficial to the well‐being of the helper as well as the recipient, offering beneficial collective solutions. Using insights from social identity approaches to volunteering and disaster responses, this study explored whether the opportunity to engage in helping fellow community members may be both unifying and beneficial for those engaging in coordinated community helping. Survey data collected in the UK during June 2020 showed that coordinated community helping predicted the psychological bonding of community members by building a sense of community identification and unity during the pandemic, which predicted increased well‐being and reduced depression and anxiety. Implications for the promotion and support of voluntary helping initiatives in the context of longer‐term responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic are provided. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

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  • If these issues go unaddressed, the haves will be targeted by the have-nots and the barely surviving.

    “and the haves will be targeted by the have-nots and the barely surviving [116][117][118].”

    From Exploring Psychosocial Stressors and Coping Strategies During the COVID‐19 Lockdown: A Study of Two Low‐Income Communities in South Africa (2025) · cites this paper as [117]

    The Introduction discusses pandemic-related vulnerability and communities helping vulnerable members; the Discussion addresses social cohesion and solidarity. Neither section says that people who are struggling will target the better-off if these issues go unaddressed. Searches for the haves/have-nots wording and for unrest or hostility toward the wealthy found no supporting passage (page numbers unavailable). (LLM, conf=0.76)

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  • If the issues of unemployment, poor government services and weak economic performance go unaddressed, intense civil unrest (such as the July civil unrest and looting) is likely.

    “If these issues go unaddressed, then it is likely that there will be intense civil unrest (i.e., July civil unrest and looting)”

    From Exploring Psychosocial Stressors and Coping Strategies During the COVID‐19 Lockdown: A Study of Two Low‐Income Communities in South Africa (2025) · cites this paper as [117]

    The Introduction discusses pandemic-related financial stress and mental health, while the Discussion addresses community helping and social cohesion; neither addresses a prediction of civil unrest. Searches for July unrest, looting, unemployment, government services, and weak economic performance found no passage supporting the claim. The indexed copy has no page numbers for these passages. (LLM, conf=0.77)

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Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. Casiday, R., Kinsman, E., Fisher, C., & Bambra, C. (2008). Volunteering and health: What impact does it really have? London: Volunteering England, 9(3), 1– 13.
  2. Ellemers, N., & Boezeman, E. J. (2010). Empowering the volunteer organization: What volunteer organizations can do to recruit, content, and retain volunteers. In S. Stürmer & M. Snyder (Eds.), The psychology of prosocial behavior: Group processes, intergroup relations, and helping (pp. 245– 266). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
  3. Jetten, J., Reicher, S., Haslam, A., & Cruwys, T. (2020). A social identity analysis of COVID‐19. In Together apart (pp. 13– 22). London, England: Sage.
  4. Joloza, T. (2013). Review of available sources and measures for children and young people's well‐being. Newport, Australia: Office for National Statistics, UK Statistics Authority.
  5. Ntontis, E., & Rocha, C. (2020). Solidarity. In J. Jetten, S. D. Reicher, S. A. Haslam, & T. Cruwys (Eds.), Together apart: The psychology of COVID‐19 (pp. 102– 106). London, England: Sage.
  6. Reicher, S., & Haslam, S. A. (2010). Beyond help: A Social Psychology of Collective Solidarity and Social Cohesion. In The psychology of prosocial behavior: Group processes, intergroup relations, and helping (pp. 289– 309). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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Authors
Bowe, M., Wakefield, J. R. H., Kellezi, B., Stevenson, C., McNamara, N., Jones, B. A., Sumich, A., & Heym, N.
Affiliations
  • Nottingham Trent University (GB)
  • Department of Psychology Nottingham Trent University Nottingham UK
Corresponding author
Bowe, Mhairi
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2021-04-05
Volume
32
Issue
3
Pages
521-535
ISSN
  • 1052-9284 (ISSN-L)
  • 1099-1298
DOI
10.1002/casp.2520
PMC
PMC8250747
OpenAlex
W3151548804
Cited by
119
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 12
FWCI
32.22
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Nottingham Trent University's Institutional Repository (Nottingham Trent Repository) (acceptedVersion)
Funders
Nottingham Trent University
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Community Health and Development
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, mental health, community detection, sense of unity, social identity, volunteering, disaster response, prosocial behavior, social disconnection, well-being, depression, anxiety, lockdown

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