Town and Country: Community Context and the Development and Maintenance of Social Capital Among Rural Older Adults. A Controlled Comparison

Abstract

Results show that while older adults in the growth community lack "sense of community" and "feeling of importance" in community activities and affairs, they have maintained a strong sense of belonging among other older, long-term residents. The results with respect to various dimensions of social capital are mixed, demonstrating that it may not be so closely linked to community context, as was expected. Some forms of social capital exist in each community, regardless of size or spatial organization. It persists in the agricultural community as a result of ethnic and socioeconomic homogeneity. In the growth community, social capital persists through older adults' development of "community within a community" which they draw on when in need of assistance, and also to reinforce memories of how the larger community was before transforming from their beloved small town to what resembles a suburb.