Exploring the Relationship between Community Participation and Sense of Community in China: The Mediating Role of Community Satisfaction

Background: Studies on community participation has identified positive effects on numerous desirable community-level outcomes, including citizens’ sense of community (Talò, 2014; Xu et al., 2010), community satisfaction (Goudy, 1977), community development (Chavis & Wandersman, 1990), and social well-being (Cicognani et al., 2008; Marston et al., 2020). However, in contrast to Western countries, where political participation are central to citizen participation, China adopts a state-led model of social governance that emphasizes stability and order. As a result, local governments in china actively promote citizen engagement in constructive, nonpolitical forms of community involvement, typically manifested as service-oriented or welfare-oriented participation. By limiting political participation, civil engagement alone may have limited impact on citizens’ sense of community. This study seeks to explore the relationship between community participation on sense of community in the Chinese context. Additionally, we argue that community satisfaction plays a mediating role in this relationship.

Methods: The data for this study were collected through a survey on philanthropic participation among residents in 1,000 communities across Jiangsu Province, China. A combination of stratified sampling and cluster sampling methods was employed. First, the community sample size was allocated to each of the 13 prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu according to their population proportions. Second, within each city, a corresponding number of communities was randomly selected. Finally, questionnaires were distributed to all residents in the selected communities. The data collection was conducted from June to July 2024. A total of 5,084 responses were received. After excluding the incomplete questionnaires, the final valid sample consisted of 5,052 participants. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the mediation hypothesis—that community satisfaction plays a mediator role in the relationship between community participation and sense of community.

Results: Residents in this study reported high levels of community participation (Frequency of yes=4020, percent=79.37%), community satisfaction (Mean=6.05, SD=1.14, range 1-7) and sense of community (Mean=6.21, SD=1.03, range 1-7). Results from the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis indicated that community participation was positively associated with sense of community (β=0.139, p < 0.001) and community satisfaction (β=0.803, p<0.001); and community satisfaction was positively associated with sense of community (β=0.915, p<0.001). Community satisfaction was found to exert a significant mediating effect on the relationship between community participation and sense of community (β=0.734, p<0.001). The mediation effect was supported by both the Baron and Kenny(1986) approach and Zhao, Lynch & Chen's(2010) approach to testing mediation. Approximately 84% of the total effect of community participation on sense of community was mediated by community satisfaction, and the magnitude of the indirect effect was about 5.3 times greater than the direct effect.

Conclusion: Our study suggests that community-based philanthropic participation are highly relevant for citizens’ community satisfaction and sense of community. These results highlight the important role of community participation through community-based prosocial activities.—in contributing to community satisfaction and ultimately sense of community. The practical implication from the study is that government agencies may consider promoting non-political forms of community participation as a complementary strategy to enhance citizens’ community satisfaction and strengthen their sense of community.