A Multilevel Analysis of Neighborhood Context and Participatory Behavior

• In Event: New Research Examining the Role of Collaborations in Crime Prevention

Abstract

This study was to investigate the contextual effects of neighborhood on residents’ participation in neighborhood crime-prevention activities (participatory behavior). Data were clustered by neighborhood and analyzed within a multilevel design. Specifically, at the between neighborhood) level, the study examined whether community social ties can explain participatory behavior. At the within level, the study examined whether individual demographic characteristics such as gender and race, and individual victimization experiences can predict participatory behavior. The results of multilevel models based on survey data from Ross Matsueda’s Seattle Neighborhoods and Crime Survey (SNCS) demonstrate a significantly positive association between community social ties and participatory behavior. Respondents living in the neighborhoods with higher levels of social ties among the residents tend to be more active in neighborhood crime-prevention, as compared to those living in the neighborhoods with lower levels of social ties, suggesting that neighborhood level of social ties among the residents can be important factor affecting individuals’ neighborhood crime-prevention activities. The study also shows that residents’ individual characteristics can have significant relationship with their participation in neighborhood crime-prevention activity. Potential limitations of the study and policy implications are discussed.

Author

• Jimin Pyo, The Graduate Center, John Jay College / CUNY