Relation between neighborhood socio-economic characteristics and social cohesion, social control, and collective efficacy: Findings from the Boston Neighborhood Study

Little is known about the determinants of collective efficacy, a neighborhood social process comprised of social cohesion and social control, which has shown to be beneficially associated with health. Our goal was to identify determinants of collective efficacy, social cohesion and social control. We used data collected from the Boston Neighborhood Survey, a cross-sectional survey conducted in 38 Boston neighborhoods in 2010 (n = 1710). We used multi-level logistic regression analyses to identify the relationship between the neighborhood-level characteristics and collective efficacy, social cohesion, and social control. High social fragmentation was associated with a decreased likelihood of reporting high collective efficacy (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.54,0.95). and high social cohesion (OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.46, 0.86). High social fragmentation (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.64, 0.99), and moderate economic deprivation (OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.47, 0.88) were associated with a decreased likelihood of reporting high social control, while high trust in police was associated with an increased likelihood in reporting high social control (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.16, 3.00). Further research should be undertaken to better understand the direction of effect of these associations and how interventions to promote social processes can utilize these findings to improve health.