The psychological sense of community is animportant aspect of community life; yet, it remains largelyunexamined among individuals with serious mental illness(SMI). Sense of community represents the strength ofbonding among community members; and this socialphenomenon likely impacts the process by which individualswith SMI integrate into community life. The currentstudy examined sense of community (SOC) for individualswith SMI by assessing the relationships between neighborhoodexperiences, unique factors related to SMI (e.g.,mental illness diagnosis), and sense of community in theneighborhood. Participants were 402 residents of supportedhousing programs who used mental health services inSouth Carolina. Hierarchical linear regression was utilizedto determine which components of community life helpedto explain variability in sense of community. In total, 214participants reported that it is very important for them tofeel a sense of community in their neighborhoods. Neighborrelations, neighborhood safety, neighborhood satisfaction,neighborhood tolerance for mental illness, andhousing site type emerged as significant explanatory variablesof sense of community. These findings have implicationsfor interventions aimed at enhancing SOC andcommunity integration for individuals with SMI.
展开▼
