Perceptions of Neighbors As Predictors of Liking Where You Live

Background and Purpose

Recent research (Fitz, Lyon, Driskell, 2016) finds that both individual- and community-level factors influence why people find satisfaction in where they live. However, less is known about how individual’s perceptions of living with their neighbors influence their rating of their own community. We hypothesized that interaction with neighbors is a complicated issue and not a direct predictor of neighborhood perceptions. This study asks the research question, How do individual’s perceptions of living with their neighbors predict individual’s rating of their community? 

Methods                                                                                   

We analyze data from the Knight Soul of the Community Survey, an annual study conducted by Gallup and the John and James Knight Foundation which uses a 15-minute telephone interview to collect data from a random, representative sample of over 15,000 participants from 26 communities across the U.S. on topics of community change and development. We sampled respondents who reported perceptions of living with neighbors (N=12,708).  The dependent variable is based on a composite score of ratings of the following questions: (1) community as a place to live, (2) likelihood of recommending community to others, (3) being proud to live in the community, (4) believing community is perfect for me, and (5) believing community has a good reputation (from 0=low overall rating to 20=high overall rating). We calculated a regression analysis in which we controlled for basic demographic information, such as income, years lived in community, and home ownership.  We also added focal independent variables on perceptions of how well “people in the community care about each other” (from 1=very bad to 5=very good) and level of talking or visiting with immediate neighbors (recoded from seven-point scale to three: low, medium, high levels). 

Results

A significant regression equation was found (F,(11,12696)=512.63, p.<.001), and the model accounts for over 30% of the variance in community rating (R-squared = 0.3075).  Significant variables within the equation included perception of whether or not people in the neighborhood care about each other. Increased contact with neighbors is positively associated with rating of the community when individuals have positive views of neighbors.  Controlling for whether or not individuals think their neighbors care about other people, more contact with neighbors leads to poorer community ratings. 

Conclusions and Implications

The rating of whether or not people care about each other accounts for almost all the variance in how individuals rate their community (R-squared = 0.2864 with all other independent variables removed from equation). These findings have important implications for neighborhood and community development work; increasing opportunities for neighbor contact in neighborhoods where neighbors are viewed as uncaring may influence individuals to like where they live less. Initiatives that seek to improve perception of neighbors as caring individuals may be an important first step before neighborhood and community initiatives that increase contacts among neighbors. 

Reference

Fitz, B. M., Lyon, L., & Driskell, R. (2016). Why people like where they live: Individual- and community-level contributors to community satisfaction. Social Indicators Research, 126, 1209-1224. doi:10.1007/s11205-105-0922-5.