Residential Tenure, Social Support and the Contingent Effects of Neighborhood Context

Danya Keene, University of Michigan
Michael D. M. Bader, University of Pennsylvania
Jennifer A. Ailshire, University of Southern California

Previous research has found positive relationships between length of residential tenure and perceived access to social support resources. In this paper we expand on prior studies by examining how these relationships may be modified by characteristics of the neighborhood environment. Using multi-level data from the Chicago Community Adult Health Study (CCAHS) we find that the relationships between length of residential tenure and some measures of social support resources are stronger in neighborhoods where a larger portion of residents have resided for 5 years or more. We also find that the relationship between tenure and some measures of social support resources are stronger in more socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Residential tenure also buffers the negative relationship between neighborhood poverty and social support resources that we observe in the data. In summary, our findings suggest benefits of residential tenure that may be particularly large for residents of stable or socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods.