IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD: BUILDING SOCIAL CAPITAL IN SAFE AND COHESIVE NEIGHBOURHOOD (Bagai aur dengan tebing: membina modal social dalam kejiranan yang selamat dan berpadu)

Abstract

A vibrant and close-knit community is always associated with norms of trust and reciprocity with
friendly neighbours in order to produce generalised social capital for the wider society. The researcher
argues that the experience of long term interaction among neighbours, neighbourhood safety and
cohesion and an active neighbourhood environment all contribute to social capital among neighbours.
As a result, young people become more trusting in and reciprocative with people in general. Young
Australians and permanent residents aged 16 to 25 (n=283) participated in this study through an
online survey. The findings support previous literature, which found cohesive neighbours are more
trusting than less cohesive neighbours. The results also indicate that the young people who perceived
their neighbourhood as safe were relatively more trusting than those who perceived their
neighbourhood as less safe. These suggest that creating neighbourhood „togetherness‟ and preventions
of crime promotes could promote more neighbourhood social capital. In turn, young people enjoy
more generalised social capital in the wider society.