Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status as Determinants of Social Participation: A Test of the Interaction Hypothesis

J. Allen Williams Jr., University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Louis St. Peter, Iowa State University

Document Type Article

Published in SOCIAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY 57:4 (March 1977), pp.892-898. Copyright © 1977 Southwestern Social Science Association. Used by permission.

Abstract

The burgeoning research in recent years on participation in voluntary associations has led to a generally consistent, cumulative literature. From these studies we now know a great deal about who affiliates with what kind of organizations and why. As with most areas of inquiry, however, certain issues remain unresolved. With respect to minority participation, an important and unanswered question has been: Do black Americans have a higher or lower rate of social participation than their white counterparts? Although seemingly a Simple question to answer, contradictory findings have led to considerable, and sometimes heated, debate which has lasted for many years. Using a national probability sample, this note will answer the question and in so doing will show why this question has posed such a problem for researchers.