Race and the City: Neighborhood Context and the Development of Generalized Trust

Abstract

Previous research has indicated that socio-economic and racial characteristics of an individual's environment influence not only group consciousness and solidarity, but also affect his or her views toward minority or majority groups. Missing from this research is a consideration of how context, social interaction, and interracial experiences combine to shape more general psychological orientations such as generalized trust. In this study we address this gap in the literature by conducting a neighborhoodlevel analysis that examines how race, racial attitudes, social interactions, and residential patterns affect generalized trust. Our findings suggest not only that the neighborhood context plays an important role in shaping civic orientations, but that the diversity of interaction settings is a key condition for the development of generalized trust.

Gracious space: Library programming strategies towards immigrants as tools in the creation of social capital

“…Also, interaction between different racial and ethnic groups does not seem to have significant effects on generalized trust. However, informal contact between white neighbors increases trust (Marschall & Stolle, 2004.…”

Trust and Volunteering: Selection or Causation? Evidence From a 4 Year Panel Study

“…A crucial yet implicit assumption in much of the literature on trust and civic engagement is that interactions within voluntary associations are pleasurable (Stolle 2003 p. 25;Marschall and Stolle 2004). One has to assume that volunteers are more likely to have cooperative experiences in their voluntary associations than uncooperative experiences.…”

What determines attitudes to immigration in European countries? An analysis at the regional level

“…According to both theories, two basic aggregate sources of threat should be included in the model: the economic circumstances of the area and the size of the minority group relative to the native population (Stein et al 2000). While intergroup contact theory predicts that higher concentrations of immigrants and exposure to an ethnically diverse environment will foster more positive feelings between the two groups (Marschall and Stolle 2004), intergroup conflict theory predicts the opposite effect.…”