Does relative out-group size in neighborhoods drive down associational life of Whites in the U.S.? Testing constrict, conflict and contact theories

• We examine the impact of relative out-group size in neighborhoods on associational involvement.
• We distinguish bonding and bridging leisure, interest and activist organizations.
• The percentage non-Whites is not negatively related with associational involvement.
• Perceiving ethnic threat is negatively related with involvement in bridging organizations.
• Out-group size fosters intergroup contact, which is negatively related with bonding leisure involvement.

We test whether a larger percentage of non-Whites in neighborhoods decreases associational involvement and build on earlier research in three ways. First, we explicitly consider the ethnic composition of organizations, distinguishing involvement in bridging (with out-group members) and bonding (only in-group members) organizations. Second, we start from constrict theory and test competing sets of predictions derived from conflict and contact theories to explain these relationships. Third, we examine whether relative out-group size affects involvement in different types of voluntary organizations equally. Using data from the 2005 U.S. ‘Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy’ survey, the percentage of non-Whites in neighborhoods is largely unrelated with associational involvement or perceived ethnic threat. However, perceiving ethnic threat is consistently negatively related with involvement in bridging organizations. Simultaneously, a larger percentage of non-Whites fosters intergroup contact, which is negatively related with perceptions of ethnic threat and involvement in bonding leisure organizations. Our results shed more light on the relationship between the relative out-group size in neighborhoods and associational involvement as well as underlying explanations for this link.