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Sense of Community in Adolescents from Two Different Territorial Contexts: The Moderating Role of Gender and Age

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Abstract

The role of structural characteristics of the residential context in influencing adolescents’ Sense of community (SoC) has received limited consideration in the literature. Aim of this study was to assess SoC in male and female adolescents living in two Italian provinces characterized by different positions on indicators of quality of life. The moderating role of adolescent gender and age group on SoC was also considered. The sample includes 1,182 adolescents: 46.2 % male and 53.8 % female. Age ranged from 16 to 22 years (M = 17.5; SD = 1.23). Findings indicate that levels of Sense of community differ between the two provinces and are higher among adolescents living in the more “advantaged” context (Rimini) based on quality of life objective indicators. Males score higher than females except in the more “advantaged” context, whereas girls experience greater opportunities for influence. SoC tends to decrease with age, as the context becomes increasingly insufficient for satisfying adolescents’ needs. Findings indicate that the context significantly affects adolescents’ SoC and that such effect is partly moderated by gender and age.

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Notes

  1. Gusfield (1975) identified two dimensions of community: territorial and relational. The relational dimension of community has to do with the nature and quality of relationships in that community. Other communities may seem to be defined primarily according to territory and its geographical characteristics, as in the case of neighborhoods, towns or cities, etc., but even in such cases, the relational dimension is also essential.

  2. “Il Sole 24 Ore” publishes annual reports on quality of life in Italian provinces using 30 objective quality of life indicators, based on statistics drawn from the most authoritative Italian research institutes and centers. They cover six areas: standards of living (i.e. GDP; inflation; houses prices); work and affairs (i.e. number of enterprises; unemployment rates); public security (i.e. crime rates; thefts); population (i.e. number of regular immigrants; birth rates; divorce rates); welfare and environment (i.e. climate; child care services and facilities); and recreational services and facilities (i.e. numbers of restaurants and bookshops). For each indicator 1,000 points are given to the province that obtained the top ranking position. The other provinces receive a proportionate amount of points according to their relative distance from the first position on such indicator. Based on the mean score obtained for each indicator, six ranks are produced, corresponding to the six macro areas (standards of living; work and affairs; public security; population; welfare and environment and recreational services and facilities). The final ranking is obtained by averaging the scores of the six ranks. According to this procedure, Rimini province ranks fourth and Cuneo fifteenth among the 107 Italian provinces.

  3. http://www.provincia.rimini.it/informa/comunicati/2013_07_17_02_dati.pdf.

  4. http://images.cn.camcom.gov.it/f/Studi/RAPPORTOCUNEO2013/10/10611_CCIAACN_1462013.pdf.

  5. http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2012-08-31/giovani-nuova-impennata-disoccupazione-102823.shtml?uuid=AbVZHFWG.)

  6. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/emilia-romagna-and-san-marino/rimini#ixzz2gqrw9jrQ.

  7. SCC (skewness = 0.22; kurtosis = −0.10); SCG (skewness = −0.20; kurtosis = −0.56), SB (skewness = −0.29; kurtosis = −0.45); NS (skewness = 0.00; kurtosis = 0.60); I (skewness = −0.35; kurtosis = 0.09).

  8. The coefficients reported in the validation study (Chiessi et al. 2010) were the following: χ 2 /df = 3.77; TLI = 0.97; NFI = 0.97; CFI = 0.98; and RMSEA = 0.06.

  9. http://davidakenny.net/cm/fit.htm.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Via Berti Pichat, 5, 40126, Bologna, Italy

    Elvira Cicognani & Cinzia Albanesi

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Letizia Martinengo, Norma De Piccoli & Chiara Rollero

Authors
  1. Elvira Cicognani
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  2. Letizia Martinengo
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  3. Cinzia Albanesi
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  4. Norma De Piccoli
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  5. Chiara Rollero
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elvira Cicognani.

Appendix: The Brief Scale of Sense of Community in Adolescents (SoC-A)

Appendix: The Brief Scale of Sense of Community in Adolescents (SoC-A)

  1. 1.

    People in this place support each other (SCC)

  2. 2.

    I spend a lot of time with other adolescents that live in this place (SCG)

  3. 3.

    Many people in this town are willing to help each other (SCC)

  4. 4.

    People in my town work together to improve things (SCC)

  5. 5.

    I feel like I belong to this town (SB)

  6. 6.

    If I feel like talking I can generally find someone in my town to chat to (SCG)

  7. 7.

    In this place, there are enough initiatives for young people (NS)

  8. 8.

    In this place, there are enough opportunities to meet other boys and girls (NS)

  9. 9.

    I like to stay with other adolescents that live in this town (SCG)

  10. 10.

    As compared to others, my town has many advantages (SB)

  11. 11.

    In this place, there are many situations and initiatives which are able to involve young people like me (NS)

  12. 12.

    I think this is a good place to live in (SB)

  13. 13.

    I think that people who live here could changes things that are not properly working for the community (I)

  14. 14.

    Honestly, I feel that if we engage more, we would be able to improve things for young people in this town (I)

  15. 15.

    If the people here were to organize, they would have a good chance of reaching their desired goals (I)

  16. 16.

    If only we had the opportunity, I think that we could be able to organize something special for our town (I)

  17. 17.

    In this place, I feel I can share experiences and interests with other young people (SCG)

  18. 18.

    This is a pretty town (SB)

  19. 19.

    In this place, young people can find many opportunities to amuse themselves (NS)

  20. 20.

    People in my town collaborate together (SCC)

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Cicognani, E., Martinengo, L., Albanesi, C. et al. Sense of Community in Adolescents from Two Different Territorial Contexts: The Moderating Role of Gender and Age. Soc Indic Res 119, 1663–1678 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0569-3

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