Resumo

GONZALEZ-TAPIA, Flor Patricia  e  REYES-LAGUNES, Lucina Isabel. Validation of a Neighborhood Cohesion Instrument in Mexico City. Acta de investigación psicol [online]. 2019, vol.9, n.1, pp.86-97.  Epub 25-Nov-2019. ISSN 2007-4719.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fpsi.20074719e.2019.1.08.

Neighborhood cohesion comprises three elements: Sense of community, neighboring, and attraction to neighborhood. This theoretical structure has not always been found in empirical research and it has only been tested in individualistic cultures or in high economy countries. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to obtain the factorial structure of neighborhood cohesion among a collectivist population. To achieve this, a total sample of 513 residents of Mexico City was obtained; participants lived in neighborhoods with different income levels and had ages from 15 to 78 years old. Participants individually answered a self-report neighborhood cohesion instrument with a Likert scale response format that ranged from one (totally disagree) to five (totally agree). The instrument was previously translated to Spanish from the English original version and then adapted to the intended population. The sample was divided into two randomized sub-samples in order to conduct separated analysis. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted with the first sub-sample (n = 240), and it displayed a three-factor structure of neighborhood cohesion that explained 54% of the total variance with high internal consistency (α = .91). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with the second sub-sample (n = 273); a three-factor model showed better fit indexes compared with a one factor model. Also, a modification search was conducted to obtain a model with better fit, resulting in the removal of some items. In conclusion, through the adapted version of the Neighborhood Cohesion Instrument the three-factor model is validated (sense of community, attraction to neighborhood and relations with neighbors) along with an excellent global internal consistency and good for each factor. The use of this scale in Mexico is recommended, as well as obtaining norms for this population.

Palavras-chave : Social cohesion; Sense of community; Neighboring; Measure; Neighborhood.

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