Survey Suggests Kentuckians Have Strong Sense of Community

CONTACT: Michael Childress, Michal Smith-Mello, or Peter Schirmer

NOTE TO EDITORS: This release presents statewide survey results which suggest that Kentuckians are more trusting and more engaged in the life of their communities than most Americans. Attached to the release are figures illustrating the questions and results.

FRANKFORT, KY (August 1, 1996) - Statewide survey results suggest that Kentuckians are more trusting and more engaged in the life of their communities than most Americans. The findings, according to Michael T. Childress, Executive Director of the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center, may be good news for the Commonwealth's future.

Increased attention has been brought to what is now widely referred to as "social capital," the intangible wealth created by high levels of trust and interdependence which strengthen community. While an academic debate is now raging about whether social capital is declining or increasing in the United States, it is widely agreed that it makes a critical difference. People are more likely to prosper and to enjoy good government when the level of social capital is high.

Kentucky may have a significant reservoir of the trust which enables social capital. While national surveys show that the percentage of Americans who report that "most people" can be trusted declined from 58 percent in 1960 to 37 percent in 1993, the survey results released by the Center show considerably higher levels of trust in Kentucky. The Center's researchers found that 56 percent of Kentuckians surveyed responded that they trusted others.

Kentuckians also have many friends and neighbors to rely on for help. When asked to count the number of people outside their family whom they could rely on for assistance in times of need, as when your car breaks down or when you need a baby-sitter on short notice, 74 percent said 5 or more, 49 percent said 10 or more, and an enviable 8 percent said 50 or more. Only 7 percent of respondents said there was no one outside of family to count on for assistance.

Another important element of social capital is membership or participation in "civic organizations," and Kentuckians appear to be fairing better than the national average here as well. A national poll conducted in December 1995 found that approximately 20 percent of the population regularly attends or participates in any civic organization or service club, such as the Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis or Parent Teacher Association. The Center's survey found that 56 percent of Kentuckians volunteered time for civic, community, charitable or non-profit activities, or church-related activities in the past 12 months.

Related results suggest most Kentuckians are proud of their communities and, despite a deep concern about crime, most feel safe in their communities. When asked how proud they are of their community, 41 percent said "extremely proud" and 54 percent responded "somewhat proud." Only 5 percent indicated they were "not proud at all." When asked how safe they feel in their community, 39 percent of the respondents said they "always feel safe," 54 percent said "usually safe," 6 percent said "seldom safe" and only 1 percent said "never safe."

"The high levels of trust these survey results show are undoubtedly related to our strong sense of neighborliness in Kentucky," said Childress. "Today, research has offered us plentiful and convincing empirical evidence to demonstrate both a decline and an increase in 'social capital' in the United States. What we're interested in learning about at the Center is the more important question of how social capital is formed and how it contributes to the development of communities. There is considerable evidence to support the notion that, regardless of whether it is increasing or decreasing, social capital is vital to our economic future." The Center is presently examining social capital in Kentucky and will report and make recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on possible actions the state can take to strengthen Kentucky's communities.

The survey was commissioned by the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center and conducted by the University of Kentucky Survey Research Center. The margin of error is slightly less than 4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. The survey included 629 Kentuckians.