A CAUSAL MODEL LINKING DIMENSIONS OF NEIGHBORHOOD ATTACHMENT AND NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONAL PARTICIPATION (TERRITORIALITY, COMMUNITY, SATISFACTION)

Researchers in a variety of fields have been concerned with the concepts of neighborhood attachment and human territoriality. A multidimensional model of neighborhood attachment was developed, and in turn, linked via a causal structure with two indicators of territoriality--perceived control in the neighborhood and neighborhood organizational participation. Neighborhood attachment was represented by three conceptual dimensions--behavior, cognition, and affect. The development of attachment was conceptualized as a causal process in which actual behavior patterns lead to a sense of cognitive attachment to the area. Further, cognitive attachment was modeled as affecting the degree of affective attachment to the neighborhood. In addition, the fit between the individual's behavioral needs and available neighborhood resources was modeled as directly impacting on affective attachment. Finally, neighborhood organizational participation was modeled as the outcome of affective attachment, under conditions of high perceived control. Data collected from interviews with 155 residents of Chandler, Arizona provided a test of the final model. The data were examined statistically through LISREL. The results of this analysis suggested that the hypothesized model did not provide a good fit with the obtained data.;A Best Fit model was subsequently developed which substantially improved the fit relative to the hypothesized model. The major differences between these two models were: (a) Affective attachment, either independently or when moderated by perceived control, had no impact on neighborhood organizational participation. (b) Perceived control had direct effects on affective attachment and participation. (c) Cognitive attachment, hypothesized as a latent variable indicated by perceived similarity to neighbors, perceived sense of community, and geographical identification, was instead represented by similarity and sense of community, while geographical identification became an independent intervening variable. (d) Local facility use, as an indicator of behavioral attachment, was negatively predictive of geographical identification and participation, rather than positively. The discussion focused on the causal linkages among behavioral, cognitive, and affective components of neighborhood attachment; possible explanations of the different pattern of predictors for affective attachment and neighborhood participation; and some applied implications of the obtained models for neighborhood planning and development.