Neighborhood Intimacy as Perceived by Women Living in Urban Areas and its Association with Personal and Social Network Characteristics

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to determine association between personal, family, neighborhood, and social network characteristics and perceived intimacy in the neighborhood by the women. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we applied a two-stage sampling method to choose a representative sample of 150 married women and housewives, aged 15 to 49 years, who had education between six and twelve years and lived in the urban areas of the Khorasan-e-Razavi province of Iran. Association between personal, family, neighborhood, and social network variables, with the perceived neighborhood intimacy, was assessed through univariate and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Based on the multiple model, there were significant associations between neighborhood intimacy as perceived by the women and their education level (Standardized Beta=–0.190, P=0.019), length of residence (Standardized Beta=0.175, P=0.029), self-rated health status (Standardized Beta=0.177, P=0.029), and their individual social network size (Standardized Beta=0.211, P=0.030). CONCLUSION: The potential predictors including length of residence, self-rated health, and size of the respondents’ personal social networks had a direct association with the women's perceived neighborhood intimacy, while the education level of the respondents had an inverse association with the neighborhood intimacy, as another potential predictor. Neighborhood intimacy could express the social health condition of the community members.