The Sociology of Community Connections

Second Edition

John G. Bruhn

The Sociology
of Community Connections
Second Edition

John G. Bruhn
Department of Sociology
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, Arizona 86011
USA
jbruhn2@cox.net

ISBN 978-94-007-1632-2
e-ISBN 978-94-007-1633-9
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-1633-9
Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011933569
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written
permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose
of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
Printed on acid-free paper
Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

What life have you if you have not life together?

There is no life that is not in community.
T. S. Eliot (1934)
The Rock

To my Nebraska hometown, Norfolk,

where I first experienced the spirit of
community

Preface

The nature of community has changed considerably since the first edition of this
book; it has become more firmly established as an artifact of technology. A generation
of youth who have not experienced community of place now have the capability
of connecting with others by touching a keypad or joining an online network.
Information is accessed; merchandise is purchased; classes are taught; marriage
partners are found; self-help is available; and entertainment, chat groups, and even
bullying now characterize the ways we connect with each other on a daily basis
across geographical, social, and cultural boundaries.
As human beings, we reach out to create systems of relationships. We need social
connections to survive, reach goals, and leave legacies. We are curious adapting
animals and so we continuously seek new ways of connecting as our needs change.
We have created new elements of technology to enhance our connectedness. We are
constantly being changed by an on-going culture of technology that shapes our
individual and collective lives.
Scholars and researchers debate and gather data to show us the positive and negative aspects of the influence of technology on our communications in an effort to make
future changes more helpful than hurtful. There is concern on the part of some that
there is a superficiality of connectedness in our experiences with one another driven
by expediency, competition, and individualism resulting in decreased face-to-face
relationships and tentative trust. It has been found that trust can be established online;
however, trust is more readily established and durable when there are connections that
facilitate continuous, dense networks of reciprocity that face-to-face interactions do
rather quickly. Trust is essential in relationships because it encourages people to invest
themselves in one another in groups and in social institutions. For example, some
workplaces are more technology driven than others; many workplaces have been
replaced by mobile ones whereby face-to-face encounters with colleagues need to be
scheduled. Connectedness is more dependent upon necessity rather than establishing
working connections enveloped in trust. Similarly, online academic courses lose some
of the ambience of a classroom environment centered around face-to-face dialogue
with peers and the instructor. Community still remains a viable and key concept in
human relations; it has merely changed in meaning and measurement.
ix

Preface

The goal of the second edition of this book is to acquaint the reader with how
connections are vital to their existence and in the performance of their daily activities.
People exist in groups. Many of our current social problems have been attributed to
the breakdown of connectedness, a fragmentation of communication and loss of
community. The second edition includes four new chapters, which address issues of
connectedness among migrant and seasonal farm workers, senior citizens, new work
environments, and ecologically sustainable communities.
Community varies culturally; therefore, efforts have been made to expand
cross-cultural examples in the text and also questions at the end of each chapter
that enable the dimensions of diversity to be addressed and discussed face-to-face
or online.
The second edition reaffirms through the inclusion of current research and
scholarly literature the importance in regaining connectedness among groups,
addressing social disconnectedness in social institutions that have negatively
impacted our ability to build and retain social capital on the world stage. We interact
out of necessity; we connect as a consequence of choice.
John G. Bruhn

Acknowledgments

The impetus for a second edition came from the interest shown in the topic of community through course offerings in universities and colleges and a general interest
in connectedness spurred by technological devices. We obtained feedback from
instructors who used the first edition as a text as to omissions and other changes for
a future edition. Gratitude is expressed to Linda Weber, Beverley C. Johnson, and
T. P. Schwartz Barcott especially for their critiques. I am also grateful for the
suggestions of new chapters from Teresa M. Krauss, editor at Springer. The photographs of Roseto are courtesy of a late friend, Remsen Wolf. Vince Colburns artistic
skills are responsible for the professional newly designed and reproduced graphs.
Tracy Grindle is one of those rare typists who is dedicated to completing her
work with perfection. Her skills in organization and composition have made her a
silent but critical partner in completing this volume.
John G. Bruhn

xi

Contents

1 Social Connections ..................................................................................

Introduction ...............................................................................................
Our Earliest Connections ..........................................................................
Building Social Bonds: Children and Their Parents .............................
Bonding with Animals ..........................................................................
Bonding with Peers and Friends ...........................................................
Transmitting Culture and Beliefs ..............................................................
Environment and Modeling ......................................................................
Generalizing Attachment Experiences ......................................................
When Social Bonding Fails ......................................................................
Negative Attachments ...........................................................................
Long-Term Effects of Negative Attachments .......................................
Attachments Across the Lifecycle ............................................................
Attachment Continuity in Adulthood....................................................
Community Attachments ..........................................................................
Community: A Definition .....................................................................
Sense of Place .......................................................................................
Sense of Community .............................................................................
Sense of Community and Neighboring .................................................
The Competent Community..................................................................
Community: Missing or Present in New Forms? ..................................
Shifting Values, Changing Connections ...................................................
Trust, Community, and Social Capital ..................................................
The Right to Disconnect .......................................................................
Purposeful Connections ............................................................................
Networked Connections ........................................................................
Multiple Communities ..........................................................................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

1
1
2
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
8
9
10
11
12
12
14
14
15
17
18
19
22
23
24
24
25
26
28

xiii

xiv

Contents

2 Conceptions of Community: Past and Present .....................................

Introduction ...............................................................................................
European Conceptions of Community ......................................................
American Conceptions of Community .....................................................
Human Ecology ....................................................................................
Community Power ................................................................................
Urban Lifestyles ....................................................................................
Networks as Communities ....................................................................
Contemporary Urban Sociology ...............................................................
Social Movements and Conceptions of Community.................................
Communitarianism................................................................................
The Communities Movement................................................................
Loose Connections: Moving to the Center of the Continuum ..................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

29
29
30
32
32
37
39
39
40
41
41
43
44
44
45

3 Common Ties: Immigrant, Refugee, and Ethnic Communities .........

Introduction ...............................................................................................
Immigration to the United States: 18201924 ......................................
Immigration to the US After Ellis Island (1954Present) ....................
A New Evolving Multiethnic America .....................................................
Newcomers with Old Connections ...........................................................
Finding the Familiar ..............................................................................
Adaptation .................................................................................................
Boundaries Bind, Networks Connect ....................................................
Ethnic Ties and Trust ............................................................................
Ethnic Ties and Powerlessness..............................................................
The Ethnic Neighborhood and Its Networks ............................................
The Health Effects of Immigration ...........................................................
Mental Health........................................................................................
Health, Life Expectancy, and Mortality ................................................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

47
47
48
48
51
53
53
56
56
59
61
63
65
65
66
68
70

4 Mobile Communities: The Tentative Ties of Migrant

and Seasonal Farmworkers ....................................................................
Introduction ...............................................................................................
Regional Migration Patterns .....................................................................
Eastern Stream ......................................................................................
Midwestern Stream ...............................................................................
Western Stream .....................................................................................
Becoming a Sojourner...............................................................................
Migrant Communities: The Colonias........................................................
Migrant Camps..........................................................................................
La Familia: Survival and Adaptation ........................................................
Different Migrants, Different Cultures,
and Different Connections ....................................................................

71
71
73
73
73
73
74
75
75
76
77

Contents

xv

Positive Connections .................................................................................

The Health of Farmworkers ......................................................................
The Health Care Disconnection ................................................................
New Connections ......................................................................................
The Role of Culture in Health Services Utilization ..................................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

77
78
79
80
81
82
82

5 Fragmented Ties: The Poor and the Homeless ....................................

Introduction ...............................................................................................
Who Are the Poor?....................................................................................
Who Are the Homeless? ...........................................................................
Poverty and Homelessness as Indicators of National Health ....................
Social Connections and Networks: The Urban Poor and Homeless .........
Non-kin Networks Among the Male Homeless ....................................
Networks Among Homeless Women ....................................................
The Fragile Family ................................................................................
Youth Poverty and Homelessness .........................................................
Homeless Veterans ................................................................................
The Shelter: Temporary Connections .......................................................
Rural Homelessness ..................................................................................
Poverty and Homelessness: Processes of Disconnectedness ....................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

85
85
86
88
90
92
93
95
97
99
101
102
104
105
107
108

6 Communities in Crisis: Reconnecting Frayed Social Ties ..................

Introduction ...............................................................................................
What Is a Disaster? ...............................................................................
How Disasters Change Social Ties ...........................................................
Place Disruptions and the Loss of the Familiar ....................................
Primary Relationships Become Primary ...............................................
Disasters Define Communities and Change Their Texture ...................
Disasters Increase Preexisting Inequalities ...........................................
Disasters Have Epilogues......................................................................
Disasters Increase Resourcefulness and Cohesiveness .........................
Disasters Test Social Networks .............................................................
Reconnecting Through Collective Coping ................................................
Emotional Simultaneity and Victim Unity ............................................
Symbols That Connect ..........................................................................
The Talking Circle ................................................................................
Walls of Grief ........................................................................................
Survivor Reunions.................................................................................
Resilience, Social Capital, and Rebuilding ...............................................
Resilience ..............................................................................................
Social Capital ........................................................................................
Rebuilding Human Systems ..................................................................

111
111
112
114
114
116
118
120
121
123
126
127
127
127
128
129
129
130
131
131
132

xvi

Contents

Continuing Disasters .................................................................................

Some Disasters Have No End ...............................................................
Threats of Disaster ....................................................................................
Environmental Surprises .......................................................................
Terrorism: Biological, Chemical, and Nuclear .....................................
The Effects of Terror Threats on Connections ......................................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

133
133
136
136
136
138
139
141

7 Communities of Exclusion and Excluded Communities:

Barriers to Neighboring .........................................................................
Introduction ...............................................................................................
Social Exclusion: Defined .....................................................................
Communities with Walls and Gates ..........................................................
Privatized Social Capital .......................................................................
Types of Gated Communities................................................................
The Minimal Moral Code of Suburbs ...................................................
Private Neighborhoods and Tentative Neighboring ..................................
Excluded Communities .............................................................................
The Excluded American Indian ............................................................
Low-Income Communities ...................................................................
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Communities ......................
Persons with HIV/AIDS .......................................................................
The Behaviorally Ill ..............................................................................
Older Americans ...................................................................................
The Obese .............................................................................................
The Anorexic, Bulimic, and Binge Eater ..............................................
Persons with Disabilities and Impairments ...........................................
Social Inclusion.........................................................................................
Managing Inclusion/Exclusion ..........................................................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

143
143
144
144
145
146
147
148
150
150
152
153
154
155
157
158
159
160
162
163
164
165

8 Connecting Seniors: Social Networks of Value ..................................

Introduction ...............................................................................................
Connectedness and Aging .........................................................................
Types of Living Arrangements and Connectedness ..................................
Predicted Future Living Arrangements .................................................
Attitudes Toward Aging and Connectedness in Different Cultures ..........
Aging: Different Degrees of Connectedness ............................................
Amish ....................................................................................................
Israeli Kibbutz .......................................................................................
The Navajo ............................................................................................
Muslims.................................................................................................
Ethnic Aged in America........................................................................
Aging, Disconnectedness, and Modernization..........................................

167
167
168
169
170
170
171
172
172
173
174
174
175

Contents

xvii

Longevity and a Healthy Lifestyle ............................................................

Aging and Social Networking ...................................................................
Volunteering ..........................................................................................
Virtual Networks ...................................................................................
Intergenerational Mentoring and Relationships ....................................
Health Benefits of Networking .............................................................
Livable Communities for Seniors .............................................................
Community Engagement ......................................................................
The Eden Alternative ............................................................................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

175
177
177
178
179
179
180
180
181
182
183

9 Connections of Faith: Religion as Community.....................................

Introduction ...............................................................................................
Changing Connections ..........................................................................
The Religious Community in Transition ..................................................
Current Patterns of Change ...................................................................
The Congregation as a Community ......................................................
Moral Values and the Socialization of Youth
in the Changing Church ....................................................................
Religious Individualism, Choice, and the Reactive Church .................
The Growth and Civic Engagement of Non-Christian Immigrants ..........
Interfaith Connections ...........................................................................
Religious/Spiritual Connections ...............................................................
Religion, Spirituality, and Health..............................................................
Longevity and Religious Attendance ....................................................
Faith, Coping, and Emotions ................................................................
Prayer Connections ...............................................................................
Religious Groups, Spiritual Capital, and Forgiveness ..............................
Religious Communities and Health ..........................................................
Religion and Disease Prevention ..............................................................
Faith-Based Communities and Organizations...........................................
Are Faith-Based Organizations Effective and Cost Efficient? ..............
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

185
185
185
188
188
190

10 Vital Bonds: Social Support, Social Networks, and Health ................

Introduction ...............................................................................................
Understanding Social Support ..................................................................
Social Support Shaped by Culture ........................................................
Social Support and Social Networks.........................................................
Social Support, Social Networks, and Health ...........................................
Enhancing Health and Reducing Mortality...........................................
Ameliorating the Effects of Illness .......................................................
Social Support and Recovery from Illness ............................................
Social Support for Caregivers ...............................................................

209
209
210
212
213
213
214
216
217
218

191
193
194
195
196
197
197
198
199
200
201
203
204
205
206
208

xviii

Contents

Self-help and Support Groups...................................................................

Social Support and Community Health ....................................................
The Roseto Story: Culture as a Health Advantage ...............................
The Effects of Acculturation and Social Change on Family
and Community Cohesion.................................................................
Changes and Choices in Roseto ............................................................
Creating Social Cohesion......................................................................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

218
220
221

11 The Social Internet: Cybercommunities ...............................................

Introduction ...............................................................................................
The Internet: A Mosaic of Communities ..............................................
Cybercitizenship ...................................................................................
Defining Online Communities ..............................................................
The Scope of Internet Diffusion................................................................
The Scope..............................................................................................
Teens, Cell Phones, and Texting ...........................................................
The Networked Family .........................................................................
Types of Internet Users .........................................................................
The Effects of Internet Diffusion ..............................................................
The Effects ............................................................................................
Community Networks ...............................................................................
The Virtual Organization ..........................................................................
Cooperation and Trust ...........................................................................
Virtual Leadership .................................................................................
Virtual Teams ........................................................................................
The Virtual Self .........................................................................................
Online Personas ....................................................................................
Internet Ethics ...........................................................................................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

231
231
231
232
233
234
234
235
235
236
237
237
239
240
241
242
243
244
244
246
247
248

12 Virtual Connections in New Work Environments................................

Introduction ...............................................................................................
Alternative Work Styles and Workplaces..................................................
Collaboration: An Alternative Work Style ............................................
Building Trust: A Key to Collaboration................................................
Alternative Workplaces .........................................................................
Workplace Communities ...........................................................................
Effects of Virtuality on the Cultures of Organizations..............................
Organizations as Communities .................................................................
Elements of Infrastructure.....................................................................
The Organization as a Community: An Example .....................................
The Future of the Workplace in a Distributed World ................................
Physical Place and Collaboration..........................................................

249
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
256
258
259
259

223
226
227
227
230

Contents

xix

Employee Choice ..................................................................................

Communities of Work ...........................................................................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

259
260
260
261

13 Ecologically Sustainable Communities:

Place-Based and Purpose-Based Connections ......................................
Introduction ...............................................................................................
Ecology, Sustainability, and Community ..................................................
The Ecological Footprint Model ...............................................................
A Sense of Place and Sense of Purpose ....................................................
Smart Growth ........................................................................................
Eco-Cities..............................................................................................
Transition Towns ...................................................................................
Building a New Ethic of Sustainability.....................................................
Sustainable Behavior: Changing Culture and Values ...........................
An Example of Sustainability: City of Lake Oswego ...........................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

263
263
264
265
266
266
267
269
270
272
273
274
276

14 Solitary Communities:
Disconnecting from the Common Good ................................................
Introduction ...............................................................................................
Communication in Solitary Communities ................................................
Outcome-Oriented Communication ......................................................
Process-Oriented Communication ........................................................
Sources of Disconnections ........................................................................
Fear .......................................................................................................
Distrust of Institutions...........................................................................
Anger at Inequalities .............................................................................
Changes in Institutional Boundaries .....................................................
Domestic Migration ..............................................................................
Reconnections ...........................................................................................
Communities of the Future .......................................................................
Sustainable Communities..........................................................................
Summary ...................................................................................................
Questions for Discussion ..........................................................................

277
277
278
278
279
280
280
281
282
283
285
285
287
287
289
290

References ........................................................................................................ 291

Index ................................................................................................................. 321

List of Figures

Fig. 1.1
Fig. 3.1
Fig. 3.2

The interrelationship between trust, social

cohesion, and social capital ............................................................

23

Immigration to the US: 18202010................................................

Number of foreign born and the foreign-born
population as a percentage of the total population
of the US: 19602007 ...................................................................
Percent distribution of the foreign-born
population by region of birth, for the
US: 19602007 ..............................................................................

50

Fig. 4.1
Fig. 4.2
Fig. 4.3

Migratory streams for farmworkers ...............................................

Migrant farmworkers health coverage for adults ...........................
Migrant farmworkers health coverage for children ........................

72
79
80

Fig. 5.1

Number in poverty and poverty rates in the US: 19592008 .........

86

Fig. 8.1

Number of people aged 65 and over, by age group,

selected years 19002006 and projected 20102050 ..................... 168
Living arrangements of persons 65+, 2009 ................................... 169

Fig. 3.3

Fig. 8.2

49
50

Fig. 9.1

Types of religious connections:

their forms and purposes ................................................................ 197

Fig. 10.1

How communities create social cohesion ...................................... 228

Fig. 12.1

Elements of infrastructure of organization

as a community .............................................................................. 257

Fig. 13.1

Man-nature ethic and ethic of sustainability .................................. 271

xxi

List of Tables/Box

Table 1.1
Table 1.2
Table 2.1
Table 2.2
Table 2.3
Table 5.1

Benefits derived from social connections ....................................

Institutional changes and value shifts
in the United States circa 19602010 ..........................................
Milestones in the evolution of the concept
of community in Europe, 18401925 ..........................................
Milestones in the evolution of the concept
of community in America, 19151950 ........................................
Milestones in the evolution of the concept
of community in America, 19502010 ........................................

7
20
31
33
38

Table 5.2
Box 5.1

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2009

poverty guidelines ........................................................................ 87
Some demographic characteristics of the homeless .................... 89
Community Voice Mail for the Homeless ................................... 106

Table 6.1
Table 6.2
Table 6.3

The AIDS epidemic worldwide ................................................... 134

Burden of AIDS among US ethnic groups .................................. 135
Some effects of terror threats on society ..................................... 138

Table 7.1

Characteristics of communities of exclusion

and excluded communities ................................................................ 151

Table 8.1

Countries of the world by life expectancy ................................... 176

Table 9.1

Major religious traditions in the US ............................................ 187

Table 10.1

Cultural changes and choices in Roseto ...................................... 226

xxiii