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Community organizations and sense of community: further development in theory and measurement
Author(s) -
Peterson N. Andrew,
Speer Paul W.,
Hughey Joseph,
Armstead Theresa L.,
Schneider John E.,
Sheffer Megan A.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.20260
Subject(s) - psychology , sense of community , social psychology , construct (python library) , community organization , empowerment , test (biology) , scale (ratio) , organizational structure , applied psychology , public relations , political science , geography , law , biology , paleontology , cartography , computer science , programming language
The Community Organization Sense of Community Scale (COSOC) is a frequently used or cited measure of the construct in community psychology and other disciplines, despite a lack of confirmation of its underlying 4‐factor framework. Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesized structure of the COSOC, the potential effects of method bias on psychometric properties, and whether a revised measure (COSOC‐R) yielded improved model‐to‐data fit. Study 1 included year 2002 data from two samples: (a) randomly selected community residents ( n =724) of five cities in the United States, and (b) randomly selected organizational members ( n =508) of community‐organizing initiatives in the same five US cities. Study 2 included year 2006 data from organizational members ( n =151) of community‐based prevention partnerships located in the midwestern United States. Results from both samples in Study 1 confirmed that method bias from the mixed use of positively and negatively worded items had a detrimental effect on the factor structure of the original COSOC. Results of Study 2 strongly supported the hypothesized 4‐factor structure of the COSOC‐R (i.e., relationship to organization, organization as mediator, influence of the organization, and bond to community). Study 2 results also showed that the overall COSOC‐R and its subscales were reliable and related in expected ways with psychological empowerment, community participation, and organizational involvement. Implications of the study and strategies to further develop the COSOC are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.