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We combine routine activity theory, lifestyle-victimization theory, and a social network perspective to examine crime victimization. In particular, we study to what extent crime victimization is associated with having close contacts who have been victimized and/or who engage in risky lifestyles. We use the data (collected in 2014) of 1,051 native Swedes and 1,108 Iranian and Yugoslavian first- or second-generation immigrants in Sweden who were all born in 1990. They were asked to describe their personal characteristics, various behaviours, and past personal experiences with crime victimization, as well as those of the five persons with whom they most often spend their leisure time. Our findings support the network perspective: crime victimization is negatively associated with the number of close contacts an individual mentions but is substantially more likely for those who have many close contacts who have themselves been victimized. In terms of a risky lifestyle that may enhance the likelihood of being victimized, we found only that individuals who get drunk frequently were at somewhat higher risk of being victimized. To guard young individuals against crime victimization, it might thus be worthwhile to focus more on with whom they associate than on their potentially risky lifestyles or attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to economic geography literature, the success of firms is affected by the local context, in particular when firms are socio-spatially embedded. We expect this effect to be stronger when firms face an increase in local disorder. We analysed data on 344 firms (active in retail, eating and drinking establishments, personal services and private education, business services, cultural activities, manufacturing and building) in 108 Dutch residential neighbourhoods, and data on the changes in social and physical disorder of those neighbourhoods, to examine firm success determinants. We find that it is not the degree of disorder that matters to local firms turnover, but rather recent changes in local disorder. More in particular, we find that local firm turnover is negatively affected by an increase in local disorder, but only when a firm depends on daily visits from predominantly local customers. Our results suggest that physical and social local interventions to create safe and clean public spaces will indirectly positively influence local firms and subsequently, the neighbourhood economy. This spill-over effect is promising for both residents, who benefit from local amenities and local 'buzz', and local entrepreneurs, whose firm success is stimulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acknowledging that the composition and structure of personal networks is affected by meeting opportunities, social distance, and national origin similarity, we aim to disentangle their association with triadic closure in the core of personal networks. We use data (collected 2009) on the core networks of three groups of Swedes (all born in 1990): native Swedes, and firstand second-generation immigrants from Iran and former Yugoslavia, where the respondent (ego) mentions up to five core network members (alters) and whether each pair of alters (dyad) know each other (triadic closure). A threelevel multiple membership logistic regression model is performed, which allows the testing of dyadic alter-alter effects, ego effects, and their interaction (i.e., 'triadic' effects) on triadic closure. We show that social distance, national origin similarity, and the sharing of social contexts are all associated with triadic closure in the expected direction, and that the effects of social distance and national origin similarity become smaller if shared social contexts are taken into account. The effects of the sharing of social contexts are the largest and are robust, indicating that shared social contexts are a dominant and more important condition for triadic closure than are similarity on relevant socio-demographic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the link between family and personal networks. Using arguments about meeting opportunities, competition and social influence, we hypothesise how the presence of specific types of family members (i.e., a partner, children, parents and siblings) and non-family members (i.e., friends, neighbours and colleagues) in the network mutually affect one another. In addition, we propose that-beyond their mere presence-the active role of family members in the network strongly affects the presence of non-family members in the network. Data from the third wave of the Survey on the Social Networks of the Dutch, collected in 2012 and 2013, show that active involvement is of key importance; more than merely having family members present in one's personal network, the active involvement of specific types of family members in the personal network is associated with having disproportionally more other family members and having somewhat fewer non-family members in the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lack of collective efficacy in neighborhoods is associated with social and physical disorder and related anti-social actions. It is less clear, however, whether collective efficacy in neighborhoods also enhances prosocial, other-regarding behavior. We studied this association by employing the Lost Letter Technique in a largescale field experiment. Our data stem from 1,240 letters dropped in a representative sample of 110 Dutch neighborhoods, combined with neighborhood data based on a survey of residents (SSND2, n = 996) and information provided by Statistics Netherlands. We distinguish between two conditions: (1) location of the lost letter, that is, behind a car's windshield wiper or on the sidewalk; and (2) type of addressee, that is, a Dutch name or a Turkish/Moroccan name. When we decompose collective efficacy into social cohesion and shared expectations of social control, we find that shared control expectations clearly matter for the rate of posted letters. Social cohesion has no effect. Furthermore, a high percentage of non-Western residents, high residential mobility, and a relatively low local income level are negatively related to the rate of posted letters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All ethnic groups have norms and values according to which one is expected to behave. Immigrants in particular have personal networks that simultaneously consist of co-ethnics and friends of a different ethnic background. As a consequence, they may be accustomed to the behavior, norms, and values of their own ethnic group, and also be expected to behave according to those of another ethnic group. This may either lead to ego-gratification and the strengthening and enrichment of their personality, or to feelings of stress and non-acceptance if they cannot behave fully in accordance with the expectations of their friends. This study addresses the association between interethnic open triads in networks (i.e., brokerage) and individual psychological well-being. That is, we examine whether having intra-ethnic and interethnic relationships with friends who are not also friends with each other, is either positively or negatively associated with psychological well-being. Using (network) data from a large sample (N = 2,942; age = 19) of native Swedes and first- and second-generation immigrants from former Yugoslavia and Iran (all born in 1990 and currently living in Sweden), we show that interethnic brokerage is negatively associated with psychological well-being, which implies that the different norms, values and corresponding behaviors that prevail in different ethnic groups to which the ethnic broker is connected may result in internal and external conflicts, to feelings that one is not fully accepted by any of these groups, and ultimately to a lower level of psychological well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because people can cover long distances either online or by travelling to keep in touch with associates relatively easily, some believe that the local has lost its significance. Others argue that community and neighbourhood contacts are still important, for example, as a source of social support. According to Mollenhorst and colleagues, neighbours became more important in Dutch personal networks between 2000 and 2007. I assess how this developed between 2007-2008 and 2013. Next-door neighbours have (again) become more important. Neighbours are predominantly mentioned as associates who are visited and, increasingly, as associates who are asked for practical help. In contrast to Mollenhorst and colleagues, I find that the extent to which the Dutch like and trust neighbours in their network increased while contact frequency (further) declined. For highly educated residents, people without paid work, homeowners, and people with initially small local networks, the size of neighbour networks increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current sociological and geographical literature, contrasting views exist on the role of the neighbourhood and neighbourhood relationships in the life of its residents in current societies. Some scholars believe that in our globalising world, local communities and the neighbourhood in general lost their significance, while others argue that the role of community and neighbourhood contacts is still important. These divergent opinions are mainly due to the absence of comparative empirical studies, which require longitudinal data on neighbourhood contacts. Based on unique and rich panel data on the role of neighbours in the personal networks of inhabitants of 161 Dutch neighbourhoods, we analyse whether neighbourhood contacts and their implications have changed over a 10 year period. We find that neighbourhood relationships have become more important in informal personal networks. This implies paying a visit and helping each other out with odd jobs, but at the same time contact frequency and trust declined in neighbour relationships. For elderly, highly educated residents, home-owners, non-movers and people with initially small local networks, the size of neighbour networks increased substantially, suggesting that at least for these groups, the ‘community saved’ perspective holds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social contexts in which confidants get to know each other affect the composition of their personal networks, inter alia the similarity among confidants. Results from attalyses on a representative sample of the Dutch population between 18 and 65 years of age (SSND 2000), support the idea that differences in similarity among confidants can be explained by 1.) the social composition of a context, 2.) the extent to which interactions within a context are enforced, and 3.) the amount of time people spend in a context. Moreover, there is a certain degree of path-dependency in the use of social contexts, that leads to reinforced context effects on similarity among confidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine whether social class and class divides in social networks contribute to individuals' attachment to society. We argue that network segregation restricts individuals' social worlds, thereby diminishing societal attachment. Our research site is Chile, a country with relatively low social cohesion and one of the world's highest levels of economic inequality. We use large‐scale representative survey data collected in 2016 for the Chilean urban population aged 18–75 years (n = 2983) and interrelate indicators of well‐established dimensions and sub‐dimensions of societal attachment. Results of our regression analyses show that members of the upper middle class are more attached to society than their fellow citizens from other social strata. In addition, having more social contacts within one's own social class reduces attachment to society. In particular, network homogeneity lessens societal attachment for lower‐ and upper‐class individuals, but not so strongly in the middle class. We conclude that social cohesion in Chilean society would be enhanced not only by more equal opportunities but also by changes to the social settings in which social class segregation is (re)produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]