Purpose: This study analyzed how residents' perceptions of their neighborhood organization's characteristics and effectiveness influenced their involvement, including their participation in the organization, and the effects of their involvement on their personal, political, and collective competencies, and sense of community. Citizen participation is defined as the active, voluntary engagement of individuals and groups in poor communities to change problematic conditions, and influence policies and programs that affect the quality of their lives and the lives of other residents (Gamble & Weil, 1995).

Methods: This study used a cross sectional survey of members of neighborhood organizations in poor neighborhoods distributed door to door, at organizational meetings, and through the mail (N=124); 54% response rate. Existing measures were used and/or adapted. The measures for citizen participation were: (1) participation level (Perkins & Long, 2002; York, 1990); and (2) participation in decision making (Itzhaky & York, 2000). The perceived organizational variables were: (1) organizational characteristics, including decision making process, structure/climate, and mission (Allen, 2001; Bishop, Chertok & Jason, 1997; McMillan, Florin, Stevenson, Kerman & Mitchell, 1995); and (2) organizational effectiveness, including influence, leadership, and community improvements (Allen, 2001; Hughey, Speer & Peterson, 1999). The measures for the effects of citizen participation were: (1) personal and political competencies: knowledge and skills (McMillan, et al., 1995), and sociopolitical control (Zimmerman & Zahniser, 1999), including leadership ability, policy control, and neighborhood policy control; (2) collective competencies: neighborhood collective efficacy (Sampson & Raudenbush, 1999), and organizational collective efficacy (Perkins & Long, 2002); and (3) sense of community (Perkins, Florin, Rich, Wandersman & Chavis, 1990). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationships among the key study variables, controlling for demographics and neighborhood organization.

Results: The results demonstrated that participants' perceptions of their neighborhood organization's characteristics and effectiveness had a weaker effect on their participation level (p < .05), and participation in decision making (p < .05), than on their perceived benefits/effects of participation. Specifically, participants' perceptions of their neighborhood organization's characteristics and effectiveness influenced their perceptions of their ability to influence government policies and programs (p < .001), neighborhood policies and programs (p < .0001), the knowledge and skills they gained through participation (p < .0001), neighborhood (p < .0001)) and organizational collective efficacy (p < .0001), and sense of community (p < .0001).

Implications for Practice: This study was based on theory and prior research demonstrating the relationships among citizen participation, organizational variables, and the effects of participation on residents, including the ecological perspective, and theories on empowerment, self and collective efficacy, and sense of community. In the current study participants who viewed their neighborhood organization as well run and effective perceived more benefits from their participation. Therefore, it is important for social workers to facilitate participation in community organizations, while simultaneously building organizational and community capacity to help residents improve their neighborhoods. The study also demonstrates the importance of community level research that contributes to the knowledge base upon which practitioners can guide their work in poor communities.