Age, Commitment to Neighborhood, and Perceptions of Collective Efficacy

• In Event: 033 - Section on Crime, Law, and Deviance Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 04. Communities, Institutions and Violence

Abstract

Most research analyzing collective efficacy deals with the consequences of neighborhood collective efficacy on social outcomes such as violence, crime, and health. This study adds to the literature by looking at perceptions of collective efficacy as the outcome variable in order to reveal important predictors after combining factors from both social disorganization theory and the systemic model to community organization. Previous research has found age to be associated with elevated levels of collective efficacy, thus we aim to explain why this is the case. Our results show that age is positively associated with perceptions of collective efficacy. However, once we take into account key theoretical factors, age is no longer significant. This study reveals that whether or not a person plans to move in the next year or two, homeownership status, and civic engagement (i.e. what we identify as an indication of commitment to the neighborhood), explains away the influence age has on perceptions of collective efficacy. Furthermore, our research reveals that fear of crime and prior victimization, friendship ties, civic engagement, and neighborhood attachment, are all significant factors in predicting individual perceptions of collective efficacy. In the end we conclude that future research should investigate the social mechanisms that lead to a sense of commitment to one’s neighborhood as central to any discussion on how to increase the level of neighborhood collective efficacy.

Authors

• Wes Jeffrey, Brigham Young University

• Benjamin G. Gibbs, Brigham Young University