Validation and Enhancement of the 6-Item Nature-Relatedness Scale Using Rasch Analysis

Abstract

This study examines psychometric properties of the 6-item Nature-Relatedness Scale (NR-6) using Rasch analysis. Nature relatedness is an important indicator of several markers of human and ecological well-being, and the NR-6 is a common convenient measure. In addition, the NR-6 is an ordinal scale with limited suitability for use with parametric statistics due to inconsistency with fundamental measurement principles. The current Rasch analysis employed the partial credit model using a sample (n = 450) collected from the United States. Initial analysis showed local dependency, low reliability, and poor fit to the Rasch model. The best model fit (χ2[24] = 29.30, p = 0.209) and reliability (Person Separation Index = 0.74) were achieved through combining locally dependent items, reducing measurement error. These findings support the psychometric strength of the NR-6 given the use of the included ordinal-to-linear conversion table, providing improvement without altering the original scale format.