Measuring perceived community support: Factorial structure, longitudinal invariance, and predictive validity of the PCSQ (perceived community support questionnaire)

Social support from intimate and confiding relationships has received a great deal of attention; however, the study of the community as a relevant source of support has been comparatively lacking. In this article, we present a multidimensional measure of community support (Perceived Community Support Questionnaire, PCSQ). Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on data from three samples of adult population (two-wave panel: sample 1, N = 1009 and sample 2, N = 780; and an independent sample 3, N = 440), results show that community integration, community participation, and use of community organizations are reliable indicators of the underlying construct of perceived community support. Also, community support is associated with a reduction of depressive symptoms after 6 months, once autoregression is controlled for. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[1]  R. Douglas,et al.  The social origins health and well-being , 2001 .

[2]  W. Davidson,et al.  The relationship between sense of community and subjective well‐being: A first look , 1991 .

[3]  Sheldon Cohen.  Social relationships and health. , 2004, The American psychologist.

[4]  T. Harpham,et al.  Mental health and social capital in Cali, Colombia. , 2004, Social science & medicine.

[5]  Anne E. Brodsky,et al.  PSOC in community context: multi-level correlates of a measure of psychological sense of community in low-income, urban neighborhoods , 1999 .

[6]  Peter M. Bentler,et al.  EQS : structural equations program manual , 1989 .

[7]  N. Lin.  Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action , 2001 .

[8]  B. Wellman,et al.  Networks, Neighborhoods, and Communities , 1979 .

[9]  Nan Lin,et al.  2 – Conceptualizing Social Support , 1986 .

[10]  H. Kaiser.  An index of factorial simplicity , 1974 .

[11]  T. Aubry,et al.  Neighborhoods and neighbors: Do they contribute to personal well-being? , 2004 .

[12]  G. Pretty,et al.  Psychological environments and burnout: Gender considerations within the corporation , 1992 .

[13]  A. Wandersman,et al.  The importance of neighbors: The social, cognitive, and affective components of neighboring , 1985 .

[14]  B. Israel,et al.  Social networks and social support. , 2008 .

[15]  Thomas Ashby Wills,et al.  Measuring perceived and received social support. , 2000 .

[16]  Lindsay McLaren,et al.  Ecological perspectives in health research , 2004, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

[17]  E. Gracia.  Visible but unreported: a case for the "not serious enough" cases of child maltreatment. , 1995, Child abuse & neglect.

[18]  G. Pretty,et al.  Relating psychological sense of community to social climate characteristics , 1990 .

[19]  Juan Herrero,et al.  Determinants of social integration in the community: an exploratory analysis of personal, interpersonal and situational variables , 2004 .

[20]  Juan Herrero,et al.  PERSONAL AND SITUATIONAL DETERMINANTS OF RELATIONSHIP-SPECIFIC PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL SUPPORT , 2004 .

[21]  M. Barrera.  Social Support Research in Community Psychology , 2000 .

[22]  G. Pretty,et al.  Sense of community and its relevance to adolescents of all ages , 1996 .

[23]  T. Gärling,et al.  A multidimensional measure of neighboring , 1996 .

[24]  E. Cowen.  Community Psychology and Routes to Psychological Wellness , 2000 .

[25]  D. Chavis,et al.  Sense of community: A definition and theory , 1986 .

[26]  S. Sarason.  The Psychological Sense of Community: Prospects for a Community Psychology , 1974 .

[27]  A. Wandersman,et al.  Citizen Participation and Community Organizations , 2000 .

[28]  J. Garbarino.  The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design: by Urie Bronfenbrenner Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1979, 330 + p. , 1980 .

[29]  R. Williams,et al.  Social Integration and Longevity: An Event History Analysis of Women's Roles and Resilience , 1989 .

[30]  S. Myers.  Childhood migration and social integration in adulthood , 1999 .

[31]  Leroy White,et al.  Connection matters: exploring the implications of social capital and social networks for social policy , 2002 .

[32]  Miretta Prezza,et al.  Sense of community and life satisfaction: investigation in three different territorial contexts , 1998 .

[33]  R. Turner,et al.  Social Integration and Support , 1999 .

[34]  I. Kawachi,et al.  Social capital, income inequality, and mortality. , 1997, American journal of public health.

[35]  A. Vaux.  Assessment of social support. , 1992 .

[36]  Benjamin H. Gottlieb,et al.  Social support measurement and intervention: A guide for health and social scientists. , 2000 .

[37]  Andrew Steptoe,et al.  Stress, personal control and health. , 1989 .

[38]  Victor M. Catano,et al.  Psychological sense of community and student burnout. , 1990 .

[39]  J. Coleman,et al.  Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital , 1988, American Journal of Sociology.

[40]  I. Brissette,et al.  Measuring social integration and social networks. , 2000 .

[41]  N. Lin,et al.  Social support, stressful life events, and illness: a model and an empirical test. , 1979, Journal of health and social behavior.

[42]  J. Cassel.  The contribution of the social environment to host resistance: the Fourth Wade Hampton Frost Lecture. , 1976, American journal of epidemiology.

[43]  Leonard I. Pearlin,et al.  Social structure and processes of social support. , 1985 .

[44]  G. Pretty,et al.  A review of the sense of community index: Current uses, factor structure, reliability, and further development , 1999 .

[45]  A. Almedom,et al.  Social capital and mental health: an interdisciplinary review of primary evidence. , 2005, Social science & medicine.

[46]  B. Wellman,et al.  Social Support, Life Events, and Depression , 1985 .

[47]  L. Radloff.  The CES-D Scale , 1977 .

[48]  P Eneroth,et al.  An Experimental Study of Social Isolation of Elderly People: Psychoendocrine and Metabolic Effects , 1983, Psychosomatic medicine.

[49]  Marybeth Shinn,et al.  Community contexts of human welfare. , 2003, Annual review of psychology.

[50]  D. Chavis,et al.  Sense of community: Advances in measurement and application. , 1999 .

[51]  A. Satorra,et al.  A scaled difference chi-square test statistic for moment structure analysis , 1999 .

[52]  Juan Herrero,et al.  Predicting Social Integration in the Community among College Students. , 2004 .

[53]  R. Schwarzer,et al.  Social support and health: A meta-analysis , 1989 .

[54]  Catherine E. Ross,et al.  Neighborhood disadvantage and adult depression , 2000 .

[55]  H. Veiel,et al.  The meaning and measurement of social support , 1992 .

[56]  G. E. Berrios,et al.  . New York: Cambridge , 2000 .

[57]  J. Knote.  Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community , 2004 .

[58]  E. Gracia,et al.  Macrosocial Determinants of Social Integration: Social Class and Area Effect , 1995 .

[59]  J. Cassel,et al.  THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT TO HOST RESISTANCE: THE FOURTH WADE HAMPTON FROST LECTURE , 1976 .

[60]  Edward Seidman,et al.  Handbook of community psychology , 2000 .

[61]  H. Turner,et al.  Sources and determinants of social support for caregivers of persons with AIDS. , 1998, Journal of health and social behavior.

[62]  James William Coleman,et al.  Competition and the Structure of Industrial Society: Reply to Braithwaite , 1988, American Journal of Sociology.

[63]  Ronald C. Kessler,et al.  Social support and mental health in community samples. , 1985 .

[64]  A. Antonovsky.  Health, stress, and coping , 1979 .

[65]  Carol S. Aneshensel,et al.  Handbook of the sociology of mental health , 1999 .

[66]  E. Gracia,et al.  Social isolation from communities and child maltreatment: a cross-cultural comparison. , 2003, Child abuse & neglect.

[67]  S. Syme,et al.  Social support and health. , 1986 .

[68]  E. Litwak.  Voluntary Association and Neighborhood Cohesion , 1961 .

[69]  M. J. Stevens,et al.  Correlates of participation in a breast cancer support group. , 1998, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[70]  N. Lin.  Social Capital: Frontmatter , 2001 .

[71]  D. Chavis,et al.  Sense of community in the urban environment: A catalyst for participation and community development , 1990 .

[72]  Lourdes Valiente,et al.  Participación social en contextos virtuales , 2004 .

[73]  N. Lin,et al.  9 – Measuring Community and Network Support , 1986 .

[74]  J. House,et al.  Structures and Processes of Social Support , 1988 .

[75]  L. Berkman.  The role of social relations in health promotion. , 1995, Psychosomatic medicine.

[76]  Juan Herrero,et al.  Perceived Neighborhood Social Disorder and Attitudes Toward Reporting Domestic Violence Against Women , 2007, Journal of interpersonal violence.

[77]  T. Wills,et al.  Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. , 1985, Psychological bulletin.

[78]  M. Shinn,et al.  Social integration and social support: Moving “social support” beyond the individual level , 1992 .

[79]  J. Beggs,et al.  Exploring the determinants of support provision: provider characteristics, personal networks, community contexts, and support following life events. , 1996, Journal of health and social behavior.