Place-Identity in a School Setting: Effects of the Place Image

Studies on place identity show positive relationships between the evaluation of a place and mechanisms involved in place identification. However, individuals also identify with places of low social prestige (places that bear a negative social image). Few authors investigate the nature of place identity processes in this case. The goal of this study is to highlight the specific connections between the three components of place identification, place attachment, place dependence, and group identity, which depend on the social evaluation of the environmental context (negative vs. positive image). The author uses self-administered questionnaires to interview 542 high-school students, to collect data on the basis of these three dimensions of their high school place identity, and their evaluation of their high school’s image. Results show positive relationships between the students’ evaluation of his or her high-school’s image and his or her place identity. However, findings show that some students reported strong place identification even though they had rated their high school as having low social prestige (negative image). Findings also show that such place identification occurred through strong attachment ties, which were a strong influence.