An Investigation of Social Capital and the Factors Affecting Its Development in the Community Level

This paper tries to introduce and measure the social capital evaluation indices at the community level while focusing on the significance of the notion of social capital itself. Neighborhood ties indices, trust at the community level, participation in the community affairs, informal social control and sense of belonging to the community are the most important indices in this study. The major goal of the present research is to identify the effective factors in the development of social capital at the community level. The homogeneity rate (revenue, education and then the family), residential stability, participation in religious ceremonies in the community, and the features of the community context were chosen as the most significant factors in the development of social capital. The method of research was survey. The data was gathered through a questionnaire using multi-level sampling. The sample includes the citizens of district 9 in Mashhad from whom 381 individuals were chosen across eight neighborhoods. The findings show that the average social capital of individuals at the community level is 2.99 in a five-part range. Furthermore it was found that participation in religious ceremonies in the community is the most effective factor in the development of social capital. The significant relationship between the social capital and the residential stability and the features of the individuals’ living context was verified. It was also found that there is a positive relationship between social capital and the individuals’ homogeneity in the community but it is not statistically significant.