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The Persistence of Neighboring as a Determinant of Community Attachment: A Community Field Perspective *
Author(s) -
Sundblad Daniel R.,
Sapp Stephen G.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
rural sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.083
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1549-0831
pISSN - 0036-0112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1549-0831.2011.00059.x
Subject(s) - perspective (graphical) , friendship , persistence (discontinuity) , field (mathematics) , social psychology , census , sociology , psychology , demography , population , geotechnical engineering , mathematics , artificial intelligence , computer science , pure mathematics , engineering
A bstract We examined the community field perspective as a complement to the linear‐development and systemic models of community attachment, wherein community attachment is defined as a social bond to the community of place. We empirically evaluated indicators of the actor's interaction within the social field, such as the perceived quality of neighboring and density of friendships, using social survey and census data from 99 communities in 1994 and 2004 and evaluated as well the percentage change in these indicators from 1994 to 2004. Results show that the community field perspective can complement previous approaches by highlighting the importance of perceived neighboring and friendship density and the persistence of perceived neighboring over time. We suggest implications for community development efforts aimed at enhancing community attachment.