Connecting Across the Divides of Race/Ethnicity

Abstract

There exists an active discussion as to the effects of racial/ethnic composition on community connection. Research has suggested that racial segregation is beneficial to one's community connection. To explore this dynamic, we investigate how an individual's community connection is determined by the racial/ethnic segregation of his or her neighborhood, among other independent variables. We implement multilevel models using individual data from the socioeconomic status of a neighborhood explains much of the variations in community connection, non-Hispanic Blacks living in predominantly White or mixed communities tend to have a weaker community connection than their counterparts in other types of neighborhood. This demonstrates that segregation and socioeconomic status explain community connection.

The Association of Minority Self-Rated Health with Black versus White Gentrification

“…First, we include a measure of social cohesion, a composite score used in several studies 49,50 based on the principal component analysis (PCA) of respondents' answers to the following three questions: (1) Willingness, BWould you say that most people in your neighborhood are always, often, sometimes, rarely, or never willing to help their neighbors?^From always to never, we coded from 5 to 1. (2) Belonging, BDo you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree that you feel that you belong and are part of your neighborhood?^We coded the answers with a four-level Likerttype scale where 4 means strongly agree, and 1 indicates strongly disagree.…”

The Effect of Segregated Cities on Ethnoracial Minority Healthcare System Distrust

“…Ethnoracial minority residents living in homogenous nonwhite neighborhoods within segregated regions have been found to enjoy a greater sense of trust compared to ethnoracial minorities who live elsewhere. This trust relates to a strong sense of community (McMillan ), often measured by forces of social cohesion like social capital or community connection (Bakker and Dekker ; Gibbons and Yang ; Neal and Neal ; Usher ; Uslaner ).…”

“…Beyond the demographic questions, variables of individual social cohesion include a measure of community connection , a means‐centered composite score comprised of several factors associated with one's sense of community including trust of neighbors, sense of belongingness to a neighborhood, and the likelihood one will collaborate with neighbors (Dean et al. ; Gibbons and Yang ; Greif ; McMillan ; Sampson ). Following on past research (Gibbons and Yang ), this score is determined by PCA reported in the Supplamental Tables.…”

“…; Gibbons and Yang ; Greif ; McMillan ; Sampson ). Following on past research (Gibbons and Yang ), this score is determined by PCA reported in the Supplamental Tables. The PCA results suggested that one factor is sufficient to capture over 60 percent of the variance among these three questions.…”

“…Next, this association would come with troubling potential implications for nonwhites residing in mixed neighborhoods, places with no one predominant ethnoracial group. Past research has found that ethnoracial minority residents of mixed or mostly white neighborhoods in segregated regions have a weaker sense of trust compared to those in homogenous places (Abascal and Baldassarri ; Gibbons and Yang ; Neal and Neal ; Putnam ). Does this, in turn, mean that healthcare system distrust is stronger for ethnoracial minorities who live in mixed neighborhoods?…”