A review of the sense of community index: Current uses, factor structure, reliability, and further development

The short form of the Sense of Community Index (SCI) (Chavis, Hogge, McMill an, & Wandersman, 1986) was assessed in terms of the four dimensions of psy chological sense of community (PSC) proposed by McMillan and Chavis (1986). Four sets of data were used. They measured PSC in the neighborhood for adu lts and adolescents, and workplace PSC for adults, using true/false and thr ee-point response formats. Reliabilities for the total SCI scores ranged fr om .64 to .69. Most subscale reliabilities were below acceptable levels, ra nging from a low of .16 to a high of .72. Factor analyses showed some suppo rt for the existence of the four dimensions of the McMillan and Chavis PSC model in the SCI. However, they were not consistent across data sets. Furth er work to develop the SCI as a measure representative of the PSC model is outlined, with implications for adult and adolescent populations. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.