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Human Security in Communities in Costa Rica and the United States
Author(s) -
Mahoney Caitlin O.,
Pinedo Tatiana M.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.2007.00513.x
Subject(s) - socioeconomic status , economic security , human security , politics , political science , national security , food security , economic growth , socioeconomics , psychology , sociology , geography , economics , population , agriculture , law , demography , archaeology
This study has three aims: to create and validate a measure for the experience of human security, to begin exploring how the experience of security relates to the socioeconomic status of the community in which one resides and the emotional climate and culture of peace of one's nation, and to examine what personal factors influence the experience of security within different communities. To assess the security experienced by individuals, we developed a self‐report questionnaire based on seven objective aspects of human security outlined by the United Nations: economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political security. We compared middle and lower class communities in the United States and Costa Rica and examined the extent to which individuals depend upon themselves and others in these different communities. Our results show that it is possible to measure the experience of human security, that this experience depends more on national emotional climate than socioeconomic status, and that for community samples, a large part of human security depends on support from family and friends.