Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Young People’s Development of the Community-Minded Self

Considering Community Identity, Community Attachment and Sense of Community

  • Chapter
Psychological Sense of Community

Part of the book series: The Plenum Series in Social/Clinical Psychology ((SSSC))

Abstract

This chapter considers a young person’s perceptions of and experiences in the residential community and how these might contribute to the maturation of a community-minded self. The discussion is guided by an integration of perspectives from social, environmental, developmental and community psychology. The discussion of social identity and self-categorization theories suggests how place identity, an environmental psychology concept, becomes a contextual aspect of self-identity development. Sense of community and community attachment are described as concepts that capture the community experiences and relationships that foster community identity as an aspect of self-identity through processes of social cohesion and social identity. In addition to proposing theoretical links between these concepts, supportive findings from community studies with adolescents are reviewed, along with the challenges and possibilities of creating a lifespan perspective of how people come to identify with community. The overall aims of the chapter are to make the case that adolescents should not be omitted from our research on residential community phenomena, and to encourage future investigations by reviewing relevant theoretical and empirical literature and describing challenges and possibilities for the field.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Adelson, J., & O’Neil, R. P. (1966). Growth of political ideas in adolescence: The sense of community. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 295–306.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Altman, I., & Low, S. M. (Eds.). (1992). Place attachment. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bardo, J. & Bardo, D. (1983). A re-examination of subjective components of community satisfaction in a British new town. The Journal of Social Psychology, 120, 35–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barone, C, Iscoe, E., Trickett, E., & Schmid, K. (1998). An ecologically differentiated, multifactorial model of adolescent network orientation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 26, 403–423.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bonnes, M., & Secchiaroli, G. (1995). Environmental Psychology. London, UK: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breakwell, G. M. (2000). Social representational constraints upon identity. In K. Deaux and G. Philogene (Eds) Representations of the Social. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brodsky, A., & Marx, C. (2001). Layers of identity: Multiple psychological senses of community within a community setting. Journal of Community Psychology, 29, 161–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B. B. (1987). Territoriality. In D. Stokols and I. Altman, (Eds). Handbook of environmental psychology, (pp. 505–531). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B. B., & Perkins, D. D. (1992). Disruptions in place attachment. In I. Altman and S. M. Low (Eds.). Place attachment. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buckner, J. (1988). The development of an instrument to measure neighborhood cohesion. American Journal of Community Psychology, 16, 771–791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, C. M. (1995). The social identity of township youth: An extension of Social Identity Theory (Part 1). South African Journal of Psychology, 25, 150–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chavis, D., & Wandersman, A. (1990). Sense of community in the urban environment: A catalyst for participation and community development. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18, 55–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chawla, L. (1992). Childhood place attachments. In I. Altman and S. M. Low (Eds.). Place attachment. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chipuer, H. M., & Pretty, G. H. (2000). Facets of adolescents’ loneliness: A study of rural and urban Australian youth. Australian Psychologist, 35, 233–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chipuer, H.M., Pretty, G. H., Delorey, E., Miller, M., Powers, T., Rumstein, O., Barnes, A., Cordasic, N., & Laurent, L. (1999). The Neighbourhood Youth Inventory: Development and validation. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 9, 355–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comerci, G. (1989). Society /Community and the adolescent: How much the problem, how much the solution. Journal of Early Adolescence, 9, 8–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuba, L., & Hummon, D. M. (1993). A place to call home: Identification with dwelling, community, and region. Sociological Quarterly, 34, 111–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, W., & Cotter, P. (1986). Measurement of sense of community within the sphere of city. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 16, 608–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elder, G. H., King, V., & Conger, R. D. (1996). Attachment to place and migration prospects: A developmental perspective. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 6, 397–425.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, C., Bowes, J., Jonsson, B., Csapo, B., & Sheblanova, E. (1998). Ties that bind: Correlates of adolescents’ civic commitments in seven countries. Journal of Social Issues, 54, 457–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fried, M. (2000). Continuities and discontinuities of place. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 20, 193–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerson, K., Stueveu, C. A., & Fisher, C. S. (1977). Attachment to place. In C. S. Fisher, R. M. Jackson, C. A. Stueve, K. Gerson, L. M. Jones, and M. Baldassare (Eds.), Networks and places: Social relations in the urban setting. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glynn, T. J. (1981). Psychological sense of community: Measurement and application. Human Relations, 34, 780–818.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goudy, W. (1990a). Community attachment in rural regions. Rural Sociology, 55, 178–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goudy, W. (1990b). The ideal and the actual community: Evaluations from small-town residents. Journal of Community Psychology, 18, 277–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giuliani, M. V., & Feldman, R. (1993). Place attachment in a developmental and cultural context. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 13, 267–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gustafson, P. (2000). Meanings of place: Everyday experience and theoretical conceptualizations. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 5–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, P., & Brown, B. (1996). The home and identity display: Interpreting resident territoriality from home exteriors. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 16, 187–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, R. A. (1979). Children’s experience of place. New York: Irvington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hay, R. (1998). Sense of place in developmental context. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18, 5–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hummon, D. M. (1992). Community attachment: Local sentiment and sense of place. In I. Altman and S. M. Low (Eds.), Place attachment, (pp. 253–277). New York: Plenum Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, A., & Riger, S. (1986). The meaning of community in community mental health. Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 55–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jorgensen, B. S., & Stedman, R. C. (2001). Sense of place as an attitude: Lakeshore owners attitudes toward their properties. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 21, 233–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasarda, J & Janowitz, M. (1974). Community attachment in mass society. American Sociological Review, 39, 328–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korpela, K. M. (1989). Place identity as a product of environmental self-regulation. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 9, 241–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotroni, J., (2000). Community and context: Perceptions of male adolescents in rural and urban Australia. Unpublished Masters Dissertation, The University of Southern Queensland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lalli, M. (1992). Urban-related identity: Theory, measurement, and empirical findings. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 12, 285–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laurent, K (2001). Adolescents’ attachment to and identification with their community. Paper presented at the Seventh Trans-Tasman Conference in Community Psychology, Melbourne, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leventhal, T. & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). The neighborhoods they live in: The effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 309–337.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malinowski, J. C, & Thurber, C. A. (1996). Developmental shifts in the place preferences of boys aged 8–16 years. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 16, 45–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMillan, D., & Chavis, D. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 6–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mesch, G. S., & Manor, O. (1998). Social ties, environmental perception, and local attachment. Environment and Behavior, 30, 504–519.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mead, M. (1984). Neighborhoods and human needs. Children’s Environments Quarterly, 1(4), 3–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, D., Hassinger, E., & Dershem, L. (1994). Community attachment and depression among residents in two rural Midwestern communities. Rural Sociology, 59, 255–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennant, L. (2000). Exploring the relationship between place identity and psychological sense of community in a sample of adolescents. Unpublished Masters Dissertation, The University of Southern Queensland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prezza, M., Amici, M., Roberti, T., & Tedeschi, G (2001). Sense of community referred to the whole town: Its relations with neighboring, loneliness, life satisfaction and area of residence. Journal of Community Psychology, 29, 29–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Proshansky, H. M., & Fabian, A. K. (1987). The development of place identity in the child. In C. S. Weinstein and T. G. David (Eds), Spaces for children. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Proshansky, H. M, Fabian, A. K., & Kaminoff, R. (1983). Place identity: Physical world socialization of the self. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 3, 57–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pretty, G. & Chipuer, H. (1996). The development of neighborhood and school psychological sense of community among adolescents. International Journal of Psychology, 31, 324–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretty, G. H., Andrewes, L., & Collett, C. (1994). Exploring adolescents’ sense of community and its relationship to loneliness. Journal of Community Psychology, 22, 346–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pretty, G., Rapley, M, & Bramston, P. (In press). Neighborhood and community experience, and the quality of life of rural adolescents with and without an intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretty, G., Chipuer, H., & Bramston, P. (2001). Sense of place amongst adolescents and adults in two rural Australian towns: The discriminating features of place attachment, sense of community and place dependence in relation to place identity. Unpublished manuscript, University of Southern Queensland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretty, G.H., Conroy, C, Dugay, J., Fowler, K., & Williams, D. (1996). Sense of community and its relevance to adolescents of all ages. Journal of Community Psychology, 24, 365–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puddifoot, J. E. (1994). Community identity and sense of belonging in a town in North-East England. Journal of Social Psychology, 134, 601–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puddifoot, J. E. (1995). Dimensions of community identity. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 5, 357–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapley, M, & Pretty, G. (1999). Playing Procrustes: The interactional production of a “psychological sense of community.” Journal of Community Psychology 27, 695–715.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rappaport, J. (2000). Community narratives: Tales of terror and joy. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 1–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Relph, E. (1976). Place and placelessness. London: Pion.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riger, S., & Lavrakas, P. (1981). Community ties: Patterns of attachment and social interaction in urban neighborhoods. American Journal of Community Psychology, 9, 55–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, S., Fiering, C, & Lewis, M. (1998). Political volunteering from late adolescence to young adulthood: Patterns and predictors. Journal of Social Issues, 54, 477–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubinstein, R., & Parmelee, P. (1992). Attachment to place and the representation of the life course by the elderly. In I. Altman and S. M. Low (Eds.). Place attachment. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. (1988). Local friendship ties and community attachment in mass society: A multilevel systematic model. American Sociological Review 53, 766–779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarason, S. B. (1974). The psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarbin, T. R. (1983). Place identity as a component of self: An addendum. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 3, 337–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sergiovanni, T. J. (1994). Building community in schools. San Francisco: Jossey Bass

    Google Scholar 

  • Seidman, E., Allen, L., Aber, J., Mitchell, C, Feinman, J., Yoshikawa, H., Comtois, K, Golz, J., Miller, R., Ortiz-Torres, B., & Roper, G. (1995). Development and validation of adolescent-perceived microsystem scales: Social support, daily hassles, and involvement. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 355–388.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shamai, S. (1991). Sense of place: An empirical measurement. Geoforum, 22, 347–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, M. E. (1976). Group dynamics, 2nd Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sixsmith, J. (1986). The meaning of home: An exploratory study of environmental experience. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 6, 281–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S. G. (1994). The essential qualities of a home. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 14, 31–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stinner, W., VanLoon, M, Chung, S., & Byun, Y. (1990). Community size, individual social position, and community attachment. Rural Sociology, 55, 494–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H. (1972). La categoisation sociale. In S. Moscovici (Ed), Introduction a la psychologie sociale, (pp. 272–302). Paris: Larousse. (English Manuscript).

    Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel and W. G. Austin (Eds), Psychology of intergroup relations (2nd ed., pp. 7–24), Chicago: Nelson-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, J. C. (1985). Social categorization and the self-concept: A social cognitive theory of group behavior. In E. J. Lawler (Ed), Advances in group processes (Vol 2., pp.77–122). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twigger-Ross, C. L., & Uzzell, D. L. (1996). Place and identity processes. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 16, 205–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisenfeld, E. (1996). The concept of “we”: A community social psychology myth? Journal of Community Psychology, 24, 337–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yates, M., & Youniss, J. (1998). Community service and political identity development in adolescence. Journal of Social Issues, 54, 495–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Southern Queensland, Australia

    Grace M. H. Pretty

Authors
  1. Grace M. H. Pretty
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

    Adrian T. Fisher

  2. Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia

    Christopher C. Sonn

  3. Curtin University, Perth, Australia

    Brian J. Bishop

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Pretty, G.M.H. (2002). Young People’s Development of the Community-Minded Self. In: Fisher, A.T., Sonn, C.C., Bishop, B.J. (eds) Psychological Sense of Community. The Plenum Series in Social/Clinical Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0719-2_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0719-2_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5209-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-0719-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation