Exploring adolescents' sense of community and its relationship to loneliness

Abstract

Two studies explored adolescents' neighborhood and school psychological sense of community. Multiple regression analyses of subscale scores from two social support measures showed that psychological sense of community was related to different aspects of social support depending on the community setting; the number of supportive persons identified was most significantly related to neighborhood sense of community, and the amount of tangible assistance received was most significantly related to school sense of community. Multiple regression results indicated that school sense of community accounted for the highest proportion of variance on the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, followed by satisfaction with social support, and nondirective support received. The data suggest that sense of community is a significant aspect of adolescents' environments, as demonstrated by its relationship to loneliness. Further investigation of the components of adolescent sense of community and their relevance to adolescent development is warranted.

Examining the Psychological Sense of Community for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness Residing in Supported Housing Environments

“…Although sense of community has been investigated and argued to be relevant among diverse populations (e.g., Garcia et al 1999;Perkins et al 1990;Pretty et al 1996a;Sonn 2002), few published studies have examined sense of community among individuals with serious mental illness despite suggestions that it is a core component that impacts their ability to successfully integrate and participate in community life (e.g., Aubry and Myner 1996;Wong and Solomon 2002;Townley and Kloos 2009). …”

“…Sense of community (SOC) has been linked to increased psychological well-being (Pretty et al 1996b;Prezza et al 2001), perceptions of belonging and community connectedness (Sonn and Fisher 1996), and participation in the community . Sense of community has been investigated and argued to be relevant for diverse populations, ranging from school-age children and urban neighborhood residents to indigenous Australians and Latin American residents in Caracas (e.g., Garcia et al 1999;McMillan and Chavis 1986;Perkins et al 1990;Pretty et al 1996a;Sonn 2002). However, there has been little research investigating the relationship between sense of community and well-being of persons with serious mental illness living in community settings.…”

“…Sarason considered the absence of a psychological sense of community to be the single most disintegrating aspect of contemporary life and associated its absence with loneliness, alienation, psychological distress, and a feeling of impotence in regard to social forces. Sense of community has been found to be associated with various social and individual functioning outcomes, including length of residence, neighboring, and informal social control (Perkins et al 1990); political participation and community involvement (Hughey et al 1999); safety (Ziersch et al 2005); loneliness (Pretty et al 1996a); life satisfaction (Prezza et al 2001); and mental health/ malaise symptoms (Ellaway et al 2001).…”

Social capital: a guide to its measurement

“…For example Pretty et al (1994Pretty et al ( , 1996 hypothesized that although`sense of community' is related to individual-level social support and Pretty et al (1994) quoted an adolescent in their study who stated he would feel much more comfortable asking for help from a stranger who lived on his block than he would approaching a stranger on any other block. This was true even though the adolescent had not met most of his neighbors.…”

Loneliness and Silence in Autism - Implications for Psychotherapy

“…In the background of maturing, there is a clearly visible dichotomy between the need for community, contacts with peers, and the need for seclusion and isolation from the surrounding environment. Lack of acceptance on the part of peers may cause loneliness and inhibit the fulfillment of major social needs (Pretty et al, 1994). A teenager tends to reflect on his/ her place in the world, to experiment on his/ her own body, that is to change the image as well as try the effects of using psychoactive substances and alcohol.…”