Neighborhood Status and Membership in Locality Based Instrumental Associations

Previous research on differential membership and participation in voluntary associations has focused on either: (1) the reciprocal processes of individual attraction and group recruitment, or (2) the characteristics associated with membership and participation. The first approach utilizes similarity of between individual and organizational members to account for selective attraction (Beai, 1956; Harp, 1959; Black 1957; Smith, 1966). The second approach suggests that social positions structure and opportunities to participate; SES is often used as an indicator of and of time, and skills to participate in voluntary associations (Wright and Hyman, 1958; Axelrod, 1956; Scott, 1967; Hodge and Treman, 1968). Most research examining voluntary associations has not been sensitive to and opportunities as separate factors conditioning participation. Different types of voluntary organizations attract individuals from different positions because of status interests (Warner, et. al., 1949; Hodges, 1968; Booth et. al., 1968); and higher individuals belong to more associations because of their organizational skills (Booth, et. al., 1968). Yet the use of a single type of voluntary association which pursues goals which have widespread community support would help isolate interest as an explanation of differential participation by SES for a closer look at the relevance of time and skills as factors. In this paper, the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) is examined to determine if differences in membership and participation rates occur across neighborhood SES. Participation in PTA by of the neighborhood can be examined more as a function of time and skill than in the educational interprise (Gallup, 1971). Research findings consistently show that SES is positively related to