Neighborhood Social Cohesion
Social cohesion refers to mutual trust among neighbors combined with willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good. Research suggests that rates of violence are lower in neighborhoods with higher social cohesion.
• Social cohesion was measured by asking King County adults 5 questions about trust in their neighborhood and 5 questions about the likelihood that neighbors might intervene in problem situations. (figure 1) Answers were combined to create a social cohesion scale with a possible score between 10 (Low) and 50 (High).
• In 2007 the average social cohesion score for adults in King County was 38.5. The level of social cohesion did not change significantly between 2001 and 2007.
• Social cohesion levels reported in 2007 by residents of East Region were significantly higher than by residents of South Region, Seattle, and King County and similar to North Region. (figure 2)
• People ages 45-65 saw more social cohesion in their neighborhoods than those ages 25-44 or 65 and older. (figure 3)
• People with incomes of $50,000 or higher reported higher levels of social cohesion in their neighborhoods than those with household incomes of $35,000 or less.
• People who were in a couple relationship (either married or unmarried) saw higher social cohesion than those who were separated, divorced, widowed or never married.
• A perception of social cohesion did not vary by race/ethnicity, gender or education.
Data Source, Definitions, and Limitations
The neighborhood social cohesion measures are from the King County Community Health Survey, 2001, 2004, and 2007, which used questions on trust and informal social control from the study “Neighborhoods and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy”, Science 15 August 1997:Vol. 277. no. 5328, pp. 918 - 924 (RJ Sampson, S Raudenbush, and F Earls). This telephone survey of adults living in King County was conducted in Spanish as well as English for the first time in 2007.
The limitations of an English-and-Spanish-only telephone survey include the following: a) people who do not have a land line telephone or who do not speak English or Spanish are excluded, and b) people who have less education and lower incomes are underrepresented.
