One major way citizens interact with local government is through individual contacts with public officials. Applying multivariate analysis to data from a 1985 study of three Florida cities, the authors find that need (defined as perceptions of government mis- or inaction) and awareness of whom to contact best explains contacting by people who clearly attach no larger social significance to their acts (particularized-referent contactors). On the other hand, social-referent contactors (those who see their contacts as affecting both themselves and others) are more likely to be people with both higher socioeconomic status and a greater sense of need.
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