Suchergebnisse

Survey data from a sample of white adults residing in Buffalo, NY, are combined with aggregate census data to show that the neighborhood social context has an important effect on the extent of individual political activity & the degree to which participation is structured by individual SS. Higher SS contexts often encourage participation among higher SS individuals at the same time that they discourage participation among those of lower SS. As a result, political activity is more highly structured by individual SS in higher SS contexts than in lower SS contexts. The effect of the social context seems most pronounced on political activities that require social interaction; alternative explanations based on individual attributes do not satisfactorily account for the social context's effect. 3 Tables, 1 Figure. HA.

THE SOCIAL CONTEXT IS CONSIDERED AS A CONNECTING TIE BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS AND THE POLITICAL LOYALTIES THAT PREDOMINATE WITHIN SOCIAL CLASSES. TWO DIFFERENT EXPLANATIONS FOR CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCE ARE EXAMINED: (1) THE SOCIAL CONTEXT AS A SOURCE OF GROUP LOYALTY AND SELF-IDENTIFICATION AND (2) THE SOCIAL CONTEXT AS A FACTOR THAT STRUCTURES SOCIAL INTERACTION. RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE SOCIAL CONTEXT IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE SOCIAL CLASS CONTENT OF FRIENDSHIP GROUPS, BUT THE POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF CONTEXT PERSISTS EVEN WHEN SUBJECTIVE CLASS MEMBERSHIP AND FRIENDSHIP GROUP COMPOSITION ARE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. FINALLY , THE POLITICAL IMPACT OF THE SOCIAL CONTEXT APPEARS TO VARY, BOTH IN MAGNITUDE AND DIRECTION, AS A FUNCTION OF CLASS LOYALTIES, FRIENDSHIP GROUP COMPOSITION, AND THE LARGER POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT.

THIS ARTICLE CONSIDERS SOCIAL STATUS, NEIGHBORHOOD, AND GEOGRAPHICAL INDEPENDENCE EXPLANATIONS FOR THE PERSISTENCE OF ETHNIC POLITICS. THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THIS ARTICLE IS UPON SYSTEMS OF SOCIAL SUPPORT UNDERLYING THE COHESION OF ETHNIC GROUPS. TWO DIFFERENT FORMS OF SOCIAL SUPPORT-THE NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL CONTEXT AND THE FAMILY-ARE CONSIDERED RELATIVE TO SEVERAL POLITICAL BEHAVIORS: DEMOCRATIC IDENTIFICATION, SUBJECTIVE ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION, AND SUPPORT FOR AN ETHNIC SURNAMED POLITICIAN. THE DATA BASE FOR THE ANALYSIS IS A SURVEY OF BUFFALO, MERGED WITH CONTEXTUAL DATA FOR SURVEY RESPONDENTS.