Measurement invariance of the Brief Sense of Community Scale across non-Hispanic, Black and Hispanic college students.

Abstract

Ethnic-racial background may influence college students' psychological sense of community (PSOC). Thus, it is critical to examine whether this construct is conceptualized similarly between non-Hispanic, Black and Hispanic students. This study tested the measurement invariance of the Brief Sense of Community Scale (BSCS) across the two groups. We used data from a self-administered online survey provided to college students in 2016 in a Northeastern urban university (non-Hispanic, Black = 307; Hispanic = 409). We tested the measurement invariance of the BSCS using a series of nested multigroup confirmatory factor analyses with increasingly restrictive sets of parameters. Measurement invariance of the BSCS across non-Hispanic, Black and Hispanic college students was achieved. The BSCS successfully measures the multidimensionality of PSOC across the two groups in a college setting. Students' score on the BSCS is not biased by measurement invariance related to cultural influences. When using the BSCS, community psychologists and researchers can have confidence that the observed differences in PSOC across non-Hispanic, Black and Hispanic college students are attributable to true differences rather than a cultural understanding of the construct.