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Sense of Community Belonging and Health in Canada: A Regional Analysis

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Abstract

This article investigates the association between sense of community belonging and health among settlements of different size and across the urban to rural continuum in Canada. Using data from the recent 2007/08 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), the objective is to identify the major health, social and geographic determinants of sense of community belonging and to consider policy options aimed at improving sense of belonging among certain segments of the population. The research found a significant and consistent association between sense of belonging and health, particularly mental health, even when controlling for geography and socio-economic status. At the same time, sense of community belonging improved progressively across the urban to rural continuum with remarkably high levels of belonging evident in the outer most regions of Canada. Despite the health deficit that exists in rural and small-town Canada, the paper postulates that these communities are able to overcome health challenges to create conditions conducive to a positive sense of belonging. Overall, sense of belonging was also found to be highest among seniors, people residing in single-detached homes and among couples with children and was lowest among youth, residents of high-rise apartments and among single-parents. Finally, in the context of addressing deficiencies in sense of belonging, the paper examines several recent policy developments aimed at improving mental health services in Canada.

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Notes

  1. The target population of the CCHS includes household residents in all provinces and territories; with the principal exclusion of populations on Indian Reserves, Canadian Forces Bases, and some remote areas.

  2. Statistics Canada classifies the four zones as follows: Strong MIZ: at least 30% of the municipality's resident employed labour force commute to work in any CMA or CA; Moderate MIZ: at least 5%, but less than 30% of the municipality's resident employed labour force commute to work in any CMA or CA; Weak MIZ: more than 0%, but less than 5% of the municipality’s resident employed labour force commute to work in any CMA or CA; No MIZ: fewer than 40 or none of the municipality’s resident employed labour force commute to work in any CMA or CA.

  3. The model uses the logistic distribution as the cumulative distribution and it can be written as: Pr(y i  > h) = F(XBh) = (exp(xiβh)/(1 + exp(xiβh))), h = 1, 2,…, m − 1.

  4. Of the 17 variables listed in Table 2, perceived work stress was omitted from the ordinal logit regression due to a large number of missing cases. This pertains to people who were not employed in a job at the time the CCHS was conducted.

  5. According to the 2006 Census, Canada’s rural population is 6,262,154 or 20% of the total.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography & Earth Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada

    Peter Kitchen & Allison Williams

  2. DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M4, Canada

    James Chowhan

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  1. Peter Kitchen
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  2. Allison Williams
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  3. James Chowhan
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Correspondence to Peter Kitchen.

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Kitchen, P., Williams, A. & Chowhan, J. Sense of Community Belonging and Health in Canada: A Regional Analysis. Soc Indic Res 107, 103–126 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-011-9830-9

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