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This study presents a multilevel empirical test of a systemic theory of community attachment in mass society. The data bases are derived from a recent national sample of 10,905 residents of 238 localities in Great Britain that vary across an urban-rural continuum. The first stage of analysis examines the structural determinants of between-community variations in local friendship ties, collective attachment, and rates of local social participation. Community residential stability has positive effects on all three dimensions of community social integration, independent of urbanization, density, and numerous other controls. The second stage of analysis examines the extent to which community characteristics affect individual-level local social bonds. Residential stability has both individual-level and contextual effects on locality-based friendships and on participation in social and leisure activities. The results support the systemic model and demonstrate the importance of linking the microand macro-level dimensions of local community bonds.
Robert J. Sampson (Sat,) studied this question.