Bonding social capital and collective action: Associations with residents' perceptions of their neighbourhoods

Neighbourhood perceptions have important implications for individual well‐being, yet there is limited research focused on variables that predict these perceptions. This study proposes that previous engagement in collective action mediates the relationship between neighbourhood bonding social capital and neighbourhood perceptions. Structural equation modelling with a large, nationally representative sample (N = 25,370) is used to test the hypotheses. The findings suggest that bonding social capital has a positive, direct effect on both neighbourhood perceptions and collective action. Collective action has a negative, direct association with neighbourhood perceptions and bonding social capital has a negative, indirect effect on neighbourhood perceptions via collective action. Although the full model explains 28% of the variance in neighbourhood perceptions, bonding social capital only explains 5% of the variance in collective action.