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ABSTRACT
The effects of community attachment and satisfaction on community-level action were examined using data collected in a general population survey from a random sample of individuals in two rural communities in Texas. Substantial support was found for the hypothesis that attachment to the community is associated positively with community action. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses reveal that higher levels of community attachment result in increased levels of community action. Virtually no support, though, was found for the hypothesis that community satisfaction is negatively associated with community action. The multivariate findings also suggest that certain sociodemographic variables (i.e., education, marital status, race, and length of residence) are important predictors of community action. Possible implications of the findings are advanced, as are suggestions for future research.
Keywords: Community action, community attachment, community development, community satisfaction, measurement
Community action refers to the activities of local residents working together to address and solve specific locale-oriented needs and problems (Wilkinson, 1991). Although it has been asserted that community attachment promotes community action (cf., Beggs, Hurlbert, & Haines, 1996, p. 407), the extent to which community attachment and community satisfaction, a separate yet related concept (Brown, 1993; Brown et al., 2000; Theodori, 2000), affect actions at the community level has not been carefully assessed either theoretically or empirically. Past investigations of the associations of community attachment and satisfaction with community-level actions have been thwarted by methodological inconsistencies or have been based largely on anecdotal evidence rather than systematical evaluation (Beggs et al., 1996; Brown, 1993; Buttel, Martinson, & Wilkening, 1979; Fernandez & Dillman, 1979; Goudy, 1990; Kasarda & Janowitz, 1974; Rojek, Clemente, & Summers, 1975; Stinner et al., 1990; Theodori & Luloff, 2000; Wasserman, 1982). The purpose of this research is to overcome these obstacles. In doing so, this paper adds to the current community development literature on community attachment and satisfaction by examining the effects of the two concepts on community-level action. Before describing the data, measurement, and findings, previous studies are summarized, conceptual issues are addressed, and two hypotheses are stated.
PREVIOUS STUDIES
Despite the vast literature on community attachment, community satisfaction, and community action, surprisingly little theoretical and/or empirical work has been conducted on the effects of community attachment and/or satisfaction on measures considered...