Bonding and Bridging Social Capital: The Interactive Effects on Community Action

Abstract

With the continued devolution of power and resources from state- and federal-centered to locality-centered institutions, rural places are increasingly left to depend on their own resources to survive. One of those resources is found in the structure of local social relationships—that is, the community's stock of social capital. The purpose of this research is to examine the individual and combined effects of two forms of social capital, bonding and bridging, on community action in rural towns. Findings indicate that both bridging and bonding social capital significantly predict community action. In addition, an interaction is found that suggests that one form can make up for weaknesses in the other in communities in which both are not strong.