Taking another look at the sense of community index: Six confirmatory factor analyses

Cope, Michael R.; Ward, Carol; Jackson, Jorden E.; Muirbrook, Kayci A.; Andre, Alex Nicholas

doi:10.1002/jcop.22335

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…These items are drawn from the scale proposed by McMillan and Chavis (1986) and have been used by a number of researchers (e.g., Mak et al, 2009;Stevens et al, 2011). Ancillary analysis revealed that the unidimensional index best fit our data compared to multidimensional versions of the SCI, as the unidimensional index had the highest alpha score (α = .7652) and insofar as the construct validity of the multidimensional versions of the SCI are contested (e.g., Cope et al, 2020;Flaherty et al, 2014;Lounsbury & DeNeui, 1996;Obst & White, 2004). We made minor modifications to the original SCI questions in order to fit our study setting; specifically, we asked about a respondent's "university" rather than "community."…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The SOC framework has been widely used, tested, and debated within community psychology (e.g., Cope et al, 2020;Glynn, 1981;Hill, 1996;Long & Perkins, 2003;McMillan & Chavis, 1986;Obst & White, 2004;Perkins et al, 1990;Peterson et al, 2008). For example, studies have shown that SOC is associated with such outcomes as community and individual health, group participation levels, well-being, empowerment, academic success, feelings of belonging, social cohesion in communities, and civic engagement (Chipuer & Pretty, 1999;Cicognani et al, 2008;Jacobs & Archie, 2008;Procentese, De Carlo et al, 2019;Talò et al, 2014;Townley et al, 2013).…”

Section: Sense Of Community On Campusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experiences With General Education: How Sense of Community Shapes Students’ Perceptions

et al. 2021

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General education (GE) classes are designed to reflect the mission and goals of the university and to help students become more well-rounded, career-ready, and civically-minded post-graduation. Students’ perceptions of these courses have a significant influence on their capacity to succeed, and ultimately to get the most out of their college experience. Using results from an email questionnaire sent to students at a private university in the western United States, we analyze the relationships between perceptions of the GE experience, sense of community, and academic year, and we find that sense of community is positively associated with perceptions of GEs. These results also show freshmen having a higher sense of community than juniors or seniors, and that scholastic class in school is negatively associated with satisfaction with GEs. Furthermore, we find that seniors generally have a lower perception of the importance of GEs in their lives when compared to freshmen.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Sense Of Community On Campusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences With General Education: How Sense of Community Shapes Students’ Perceptions

et al. 2021

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“…For each item, respondents were asked on a 5-point scale what effect that driver has on health and well-being, with 1 representing “no effect” and 5 representing a “very strong effect.” We dichotomized each item by grouping responses of 4 and 5 into one category representing respondents believing the driver to have a strong effect and responses of 1–3 into a category representing respondents not believing the driver to have a strong effect. An additional set of four items asked respondents about their beliefs about their community’s ability to drive health, which were adapted from the Sense of Community Index (SCI) [ 29 , 30 ]. We dichotomized each item by grouping responses “mostly” and “completely” into one category representing respondents believing their community does have the ability to drive health and responses “somewhat” and “not at all” into a category representing respondents not believing their community has the ability to drive health.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of differential views of health equity in the U.S.: is the U.S. ready to make progress? Results from the 2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes

et al. 2021

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Objectives The public health sector has long recognized the role of the social determinants of health in health disparities and the importance of achieving health equity. We now appear to be at an inflection point, as we hear increasing demands to dismantle structures that have perpetuated inequalities. Assessing prevailing mindsets about what causes health inequalities and the value of health equity is critical to addressing larger issues of inequity, including racial inequity and other dimensions. Using data from a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States, we examined the factors that Americans think drive health outcomes and their beliefs about the importance of health equity. Methods Using data from the 2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes, we conducted factor analyses of 21 survey items and identified three factors from items relating to health drivers—traditional health influencers (THI), social determinants of health (SDoH), and sense of community health (SoC). Health equity beliefs were measured with three questions about opportunities to be healthy. Latent class analysis identified four groups with similar patterns of response. Factor mixture modeling combined factor structure and latent class analysis into one model. We conducted three logistic regressions using latent classes and demographics as predictors and the three equity beliefs as dependent variables. Results Nearly 90% of respondents comprised one class that was characterized by high endorsement (i.e., rating the driver as having strong effect on health) of THI, but lower endorsement of SDoH and SoC. Logistic regressions showed that respondents endorsing (i.e., rated it as a top priority) all three health equity beliefs tended to be female, older, Black or Hispanic, more educated, and have lower incomes. The class of respondents that endorsed SDoH the most was more likely to endorse all three equity beliefs. Conclusions Results suggested that people historically impacted by inequity, e.g., people of color and people with low incomes, had the most comprehensive understanding of the drivers of health and the value of equity. However, dominant beliefs about SDoH and health equity are still generally not aligned with scientific consensus and the prevailing narrative in the public health community.

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“…We dichotomized each item by grouping responses of 4 and 5 into one category representing respondents believing the driver to have a strong effect and responses of 1-3 into a category representing respondents not believing the driver to have a strong effect. An additional set of four items asked respondents about their beliefs about their community's ability to drive health, which were adapted from the Sense of Community Index (SCI) (29,30). We dichotomized each item by grouping responses "mostly" and "completely" into one category representing respondents believing their community does have the ability to drive health and responses "somewhat" and "not at all" into a category representing respondents not believing their community has the ability to drive health.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of differential views of health equity in the U.S.: Is the U.S. ready to make progress? Results from the 2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes

Towe

May

Huang

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Objectives: The public health sector has long recognized the role of the social determinants of health in health disparities and the importance of achieving health equity. We now appear to be at an inflection point, as we hear increasing demands to dismantle structures that have perpetuated inequalities. Assessing prevailing mindsets about what causes health inequalities and the value of health equity is critical to addressing larger issues of inequity, including racial inequity and other dimensions. Using data from a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States, we examined the factors that Americans think drive health outcomes and their beliefs about the importance of health equity.Methods: Using data from the 2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes, we conducted factor analyses of 21 survey items and identified three factors from items relating to health drivers—traditional health influencers (THI), social determinants of health (SDoH), and sense of community health (SoC). Health equity beliefs were measured with three questions about opportunities to be healthy. Latent class analysis identified four groups with similar patterns of response. Factor mixture modeling combined factor structure and latent class analysis into one model. We conducted three logistic regressions using latent classes and demographics as predictors and the three equity beliefs as dependent variables.Results: Nearly 90% of respondents comprised one class that was characterized by high endorsement (i.e., rating the driver as having strong effect on health) of THI, but lower endorsement of SDoH and SoC. Logistic regressions showed that respondents endorsing (i.e., rated it as a top priority) all three health equity beliefs tended to be female, older, Black or Hispanic, more educated, and have lower incomes. The class of respondents that endorsed SDoH the most was more likely to endorse all three equity beliefs.Conclusions: Results suggested that people historically impacted by inequity, e.g., people of color and people with low incomes, had the most comprehensive understanding of the drivers of health and the value of equity. However, dominant beliefs about SDoH and health equity are still generally not aligned with scientific consensus and the prevailing narrative in the public health community.Trial Registration: Not applicable

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Taking another look at the sense of community index: Six confirmatory factor analyses

Cited by 7 publications

References 40 publications

Experiences With General Education: How Sense of Community Shapes Students’ Perceptions

Experiences With General Education: How Sense of Community Shapes Students’ Perceptions

Drivers of differential views of health equity in the U.S.: is the U.S. ready to make progress? Results from the 2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes

Drivers of differential views of health equity in the U.S.: Is the U.S. ready to make progress? Results from the 2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes

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