2009 Danville Region
Social Capital Survey
Center for Survey Research
A Unit of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service
University of Virginia
October 20, 2009
1
Report Authors
Deborah L. Rexrode
Staff Research Analyst
Thomas M. Guterbock
Director
Center for Survey Research
Center for Survey Research
University of Virginia
2
Purpose of Survey
• To measure how people feel about the region and
their future in it
• To measure people’s attachment to their
community
• To measure the region’s social capital
• To gather baseline data to be compared to results
of future, bi-annual surveys
Center for Survey Research
University of Virginia
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Survey Features
• SPONSOR: Danville Regional Foundation
• n = 1,026
RDD (random digit dialing)
• Samples
{
Listed
Cell-Phone
• 3 geographic areas: City of Danville, Pittsylvania County,
and Caswell County, NC
• Respondent selection within household
• CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing)
• Solid interviewer training and pretest
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Survey Accuracy
• Margin of error: +/- 3.7%
• Data weighted on gender, geographic
region, home ownership, and race.
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Age of Respondents by Phone Type
17.8%
18-25
3.4%
22.0%
26-37
9.0%
24.6%
38-49
16.6%
24.6%
50-64
35.7%
11.0%
Over 64
35.4%
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
Landline
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
Cell
Reaching respondents by cell phone provides better coverage of young people,
unmarried, renters, minorities, newcomers.
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University of Virginia
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Survey Topics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Overall quality of life in the Danville Region
Community Attachment
Civic Participation
Political Participation
People in the Economy
Children and Schools
Health Issues
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National, Regional, State and
Local Comparisons
• An attempt was made in the design of this study to
use comparable measures with other county,
regional, state, and national studies.
• There is no single source of information to use in
comparing these survey results with broader
results.
• The report reflects some individual item
comparisons where possible.
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Demographic Profile
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Geographic Distribution
Pittsylvania
Co
50.8%
City of
Danville
39.7%
Caswell Co
9.5%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
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Age of Respondents
65+
25.1%
50-64
33.3%
38-49
18.9%
13.7%
26-37
8.9%
18-25
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
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Education
Graduate
Work
4-Year 8.2%
Degree
11.3%
Some
College
33.6%
Ph.D.
1.1%
Some
high
School
16.7%
High
School
Graduate
29.2%
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University of Virginia
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Survey Highlights
• Danville area residents rate their region fairly high
for quality of life
• Danville area residents have a strong sense of
community, social connectedness and religious
involvement
• However, civic involvement lags somewhat
behind averages elsewhere
• Many Danville area residents worry about their
children’s future
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What is “Social Capital”
“By ‘social capital,’ I mean features of social life –
networks, norms, and trust – that enable
participants to act together more effectively to
pursue shared objectives.”
--Robert Putnam
“Social capital refers to our relations with one
another…I use the term ‘civic engagement’ to
refer to people’s connections with the life of their
communities, not merely with politics.”
--James S. Coleman
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Quality of Life
. . . and wanting to live
in the Danville Region
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Quality of Life
• Rated on a ten-point scale (10 = highest)
• Danville Region rating:
–
–
–
–
Albemarle County (2008):
Spotsylvania County (2007):
Bedford County (2001)
Prince William County (2009)
7.30
8.01
7.39
7.80
7.30
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Overall Quality of Life Ratings
Worst
19.9%
Middle
27.1%
Best
53.0%
Best (8-10) Middle (6-7) Worst (1-5)
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Overall Quality of Life Ratings
by Geographic Region
Caswell Co,
NC
7.81
Pittsylvania
Co
7.78
Danville
6.57
1
2
3
4
5
6
Me an
7
8
9
10
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Quality of Life
• Overall rating of quality of life in the Danville
Region of 7.30 is relatively high
• Residents of Pittsylvania County, VA and Caswell
County, North Carolina rate the quality of life
higher than those who live in Danville city.
• Long-time residents are concerned about the
quality of life in the Danville Region in the future
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Community Attachment
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Neighbors You Know
5.9%
None
4%
9.9%
1 or 2
12%
21.1%
3 to 5
22%
24.4%
6 to 10
17%
38.8%
11 or more
45%
0%
10%
20%
AARP
30%
40%
50%
Danville
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Safety at Home and in Schools
100%
98.3%
86.9%
80%
60%
40%
20%
13.1%
1.6%
0%
Home
Safe
Schools
Unsafe
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Community Attachment Index
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Relatives who live within driving distance
Relatives who live within walking distance
How important it is to feel a part of the community
How often you feel a sense of belonging or membership in
the community
How much you feel at home in the area where you live
How much you feel you have a lot in common with the
people in your community
How much you care what others think of your actions
How important it is to live in this particular area
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Community Attachment
• Overall average score was 4.15.
– Compared to the AARP national study: 4.20.
• People who answered “yes” or “strongly agree”
for six or more of the variables in the index gave
higher ratings for the overall quality of life in the
Danville Region.
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Community Attachment
• Residents of the Danville Region have a strong
sense of community, feel a sense of belonging,
and feel it is important to live in this area
• Residents of the Danville Region feel they have an
impact in making their community a better place
to live
• Some residents expressed concern for safety in
shopping areas
• The level of community attachment is at parity
with national averages.
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Civic Participation
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Religious Service Attendance
Every week
or almost
every week
58.4%
39.2%
Once or
twice a
month
28.8%
18.6%
Less than
monthly or
never
12.8%
42.2%
0%
25%
GSS
50%
75%
100%
Danville
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Strongest Membership in
Community Organizations
•
•
•
•
Religious organizations (69%)
Hobby and recreation groups (24%)
School support groups (24%)
Organizations for older adults (24%)
Higher than the AARP national study.
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Lower Memberships in
Community Organizations
• Labor unions (6.6%)
• Professional and trade organizations (23%)
• Neighborhood associations (12.6%)
Lower than the AARP national study.
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Volunteer Hours
26.6%
2 hours or less
12.0%
30.1%
3-5 hours
23.0%
21.4%
21.0%
6-10 hours
Lower volunteering hours
than national average
12.6%
11-20 hours
22.0%
Higher involvement in
churches and religious
organizations.
5.1%
8.0%
21-40 hours
More than 40
hours
4.2%
7.0%
0%
10%
20%
AARP
30%
Danville
40%
50%
Lower involvement in
foundations, fraternal
associations, business
organizations, community
action organizations, and
housing associations.
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Civic Skills
23.9%
Lead a meeting
Wrote a letter
17.9%
Officers
17.3%
Presentations
16.9%
0%
25%
Percent
50%
Officer percentages:
Social Benchmark – 19.5%
AARP – 26%
NWAF – 33%
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Civic Involvement
• Actively involved in religious organizations
• Support school activities
• Only a small percentage participate to the level of
acquiring civic skills
• Volunteering: less than national averages
• Results indicate the need for programs in the area
that directly foster leadership and civic
involvement
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Political Participation
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Participation in Political Activities
31.8%
Petitions
Political
campaigns
21.6%
Protests,
boycotts
3.4%
Worked to solve
community
problems
30.5%
Worked to solve
state and
national
problems
14.4%
0%
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University of Virginia
25%
50%
Percent
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Trust in Government
Most of
the time
34.2%
Only
some of
the time
54.2%
Just
about
always
Never/
5.6%
almost
never
5.9%
“Only some of the time”
Social Benchmark – 46.5%
AARP – 41%
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People in the Economy
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Employment
Not
Other
employed
4.8%
5.5%
Temp not
employed
5.4%
Disabled
7.7%
Full-time
43.2%
Retired
24.6%
Part-time
8.8%
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Perceptions of Work
71.5%
Fair compensation
55.6%
Opportunities for advancement
74.7%
Opportunities to learn new skills
92.0%
Personal accomplishment
93.2%
See connection with benefits
86.4%
Feel appreciated
94.9%
Interesting work
90.4%
Use skills
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Percent
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Special Training—for what?
Required by
job
13.4%
To improve
job
64% of employed
respondents said they would
be likely to take special
training.
37.6%
Change
jobs
This graph shows the
reasons why.
27.7%
21.3%
Other
0%
25%
Percent
50%
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Economic Situation
• More than 50% of respondents have been affected
by the economic downturn
• A significant number of residents are currently
unemployed, temporarily laid off or disabled, and
only working part-time.
• Most employed residents derive meaning from
their work and feel a sense of accomplishment
• A significant number are working more than 40
hours a week and holding more than one job
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Children and Schools
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Stay or Go?
What is Best for Children
No
difference
1.9%
Better to
leave
69.8%
Depends
8.8%
Better to
stay
19.5%
Q: “When a child from
the Danville region is
ready to leave home, do
you think it would be
better for them to stay in
the Danville region or
move to some other area
to live?”
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Rating of Schools
Gotten
worse
22.2%
Gotten
better
31.9%
About the
same
46.0%
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Challenges for Children and Youth
Drugs
26.8%
Gangs
10.5%
Teen pregnancy
2.8%
Dropping out of school
4.1%
No jobs
49.3%
Lack of recreational
activities
19.5%
Lack of parental
involvement
6.2%
0%
20%
Percent
40%
60%
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Schools and Children
• More than three-fourths of respondents said that
the Danville Region is a good place to raise
children
• Nearly 70% said when a child is ready to leave
home, it is better for them to move away
• Most respondents send their children to public
schools.
• The biggest challenge affecting children and youth
is the lack of jobs
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Health Issues
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Overall Health Status
Fair
11.9%
Good
28.6%
Poor
6.2%
Excellent
16.5%
Very
good
36.7%
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Overall Health Comparisons
53.3%
Excellent or
very good
58.8%
61.0%
28.6%
Good
28.5%
26.0%
18.1%
Fair or poor
12.7%
13.0%
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Percent
NHIS
BRFSS
Danville
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Vigorous activity for children:
how often?
Occasion
8.5%
Never
8.2%
Once or
twice a
week
14.7%
3 or more
times a
week
68.6%
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TV Watching by Children
Less than 1
hour
9.1%
1-2 hours
46.4%
5 or more
hours
21.3%
3-5 hours
23.2%
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Summary
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Overall Results
• Residents have a strong sense of connectedness
evidenced by the neighbors they know
• Residents are not as involved in community and
civic organizations
• Residents are less likely to be taking leadership
positions and getting involved in the community
• Residents have concern for safety in schools, and
worry about the future of their children
• But ratings for overall quality of life are favorable
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What does social capital look
like in the Danville Region?
• Overall the level of social capital is fairly strong in
terms of:
– Community Attachment
– Social Connectedness
– Religious Involvement
• However, the Danville Region is in need of
development in areas of civic engagement
Center for Survey Research
University of Virginia
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2009 Danville Region
Social Capital Survey
For further information please contact:
Thomas M. Guterbock
Director
434-243-5223
TomG@virginia.edu
October 20, 2009
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