He went on to examine the possible reasons for this decline. Crucially, he was able to demonstrate that some favourite candidates for blame could not be regarded as significant. Residential mobility had actually been declining for the last half of the century. Time pressure, especially on two-career families, could only be a marginal candidate. They travel much further to work, shop and enjoy leisure opportunities.
Suburban sprawl is a very significant contributor.
Electronic entertainment, especially television, has profoundly privatized leisure time. The time we spend watching television is a direct drain upon involvement in groups and social capital building activities. However, generational change came out as a very significant factor. Ladd's argument was that American civic life was not so much in decline but rather 'churning'. Some organizations had lost members, others had sprung up in their place.