Premium
Measurement of Sense of Community Within the Sphere of City 1
Author(s) -
Davidson William B.,
Cotter Patrick R.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1986.tb01162.x
Subject(s) - psychology , scale (ratio) , demographics , residence , social psychology , sense of community , telephone survey , applied psychology , demography , geography , sociology , advertising , cartography , business
Based on a deductive process, several objective items were developed to measure people's sense of community with their city of residence. An item analysis produced a 17‐item scale, which was then evaluated for homogeneity and external validity in three studies using telephone interviews on random samples in Alabama and South Carolina. Of seven hypotheses that were tested, six received support. Results described the scale as internally reliable and unidimensional, and the scale differentiated between people who differed in terms of demographics, home ownership, and civic contributions. Contrary to prediction, the scale did not relate to how long people had lived in their city. Explanations for this were offered and then conclusions were drawn about the potential usefulness of the scale.