Assessing the application of the neighborhood cohesion instrument to community research in East Asia

Abstract

AbstractBuckner (1988) extensively reviewed theoretical concepts proposed by a variety of scholars and developed the Neighborhood Cohesion Instrument (NCI) to measure three latent constructs (attraction to neighborhood, neighboring, and psychological sense of community). This instrument has been applied in most Western countries. The purpose of this research is to use Taiwan as a case study to assess whether the NCI can be applied to community research in an East Asian country. The authors apply confirmatory factor analysis to analyze two datasets collected in Taipei and the rural areas in Taiwan, separately. After scrutinizing the model fit indices and estimates of internal consistency, composite reliability and variance extracted, the authors conclude that the NCI can at least survey individuals in this particular East Asian country, Taiwan. By removing variables with small factor loadings and complex variables, researchers can develop a simplified model for further studies. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.