Formal and Informal Neighborhood Social Organization: Which Promotes Better Resident Health?

Abstract

Neighborhood social organization captures how neighborhood residents differently organize to exert social control and enact their vision of their community. Whereas structural aspects of neighborhoods have been found to predict the health of neighborhood residents, we know less about whether neighborhood social characteristics, like social organization, matter for resident health. In their study, authors tested whether two types of social organization - formal and informal - were more predictive of resident self-rated health in a diverse sample of Chicago residents. They used multilevel models with survey weights, ordered dependent variables, and multiple imputation. They found that one measure of formal social organization, organizational participation, was significantly associated with self-rated health even when controlling for other types of social organization and individual participation. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for macro social work practice to address social determinants of health and improve community health.