The Sense of Community (SCI)
Index Revised: The Reliability and
the Validity of the SCI-2
David M. Chavis & Kien Lee
Association for the Study and Development of Community
Joie Acosta
RAND Corporation
Washington, DC
Association for the Study and Development of Community
Background
• The 12-item SCI is theory based
• Short and easy to administer
• It has had adequate reliability and strong
validity.
• Relations established with behaviors,
community conditions, and psychological
well being
• Has been used successfully cross
culturally
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Concerns
• Subscales have inconsistent reliability
• The true-false response set has limited
variability.
• Its adequacy as a cross-cultural measure
has been questioned.
• Not easily adaptable across settings
• Did not reflect more recent research
findings
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SCI-2
• ASDC research team created SCI-2, which covered the
same attributes in the original theory, plus recent
findings.
• SCI-2 has 24 items and a likert-like scale (0=not at all,
1=somewhat, 2=mostly, 3=completely).
• Original draft was piloted with 36 people in seven
different cultural and organizational settings in Maryland
and Hawaii.
• Pilot-test participants were asked to answer the
questions with a certain setting in mind.
• Strong reliability was found. (.944, n=36)
• Some item statements were rephrased based on piloting
study participant suggestions.
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SCI-2 Items
•
Reinforcement of needs
– I get important needs of mine met because I am part of this
community.
– Community members and I value the same things.
– This community has been successful in getting the needs of its
members met.
– Being a member of this community makes me feel good.
– When I have a problem, I can talk about it with members of this
community.
– People in this community have similar needs, priorities, and
goals.
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SCI-2 Items (cont’d)
• Membership
– I can trust people in this community.
– I can recognize most of the members of this
community.
– Most community members know me.
– This community has symbols and expressions of
membership such as clothes, signs, art, architecture,
logos, landmarks, and flags that people can
recognize.
– I put a lot of time and effort into being part of this
community.
– Being a member of this community is a part of my
identity.
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SCI-2 Items (cont’d)
• Influence
– Fitting into this community is important to me.
– This community can influence other communities.
– I care about what other community members think of
me.
– I have influence over what this community is like.
– If there is a problem in this community, members can
get it solved.
– This community has good leaders.
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SCI-2 Items (cont’d)
• Shared emotional connection
– It is very important to me to be a part of this
community.
– I am with other community members a lot and enjoy
being with them.
– I expect to be a part of this community for a long time.
– Members of this community have shared important
events together, such as holidays, celebrations, or
disasters.
– I feel hopeful about the future of this community.
– Members of this community care about each other.
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Testing of SCI-2
• 1,800 immigrants and receiving community members in
19 geographic areas across Colorado state, selected
using a a stratified snowball sampling method.
• Participants were given a $15 gift card.
• Trained and bilingual interviewers administered the
questionnaire.
• Questionnaire was on optical scan form available in
English and Spanish languages.
• Setting where immigrants and receiving community
members most frequently interacted was the referent.
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Sample
• A 88.5 % response rate (1,594 people [753 immigrants
and 841 receiving community members]).
• Immigrants were primarily people who self-identified as
Mexican or Hispanic/Latino and Spanish-speaking or
bilingual; majority 34 years old and younger.
• Receiving community members were primarily people
who self-identified as American and Hispanic/Latino;
majority 35 years old and older.
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Results
Difference between average SCI-2 score for immigrant and
receiving community (38.8 vs. 37.4) (p < 0.05)
Common Immigrant-Receiving
Community Settings
Immigrant
%
Receiving Community
%
Workplace
41.2
35.0
Neighborhood
13.7
16.8
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Reliability of SCI-2
 = .940
Receiving
Community
Immigrant
 = .946
 =.938
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Validity of SCI-2
The validity of the SCI-2 was determined
by its relationship to
• Life satisfaction
• Civic and political participation
• Cultural and community participation
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Validity of SCI-2
Correlation with life
satisfaction
.320 (p < .01 level, 2-tailed)
Correlation with civic
.315 (p < .01 level, 2-tailed)
and political
participation
Correlation with cultural .381 (p < .01 level, 2-tailed)
and social participation
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Conclusion
• SCI-2 appears to be reliable and valid
across cultures, languages, and settings.
• Where to download?
www.senseofcommunity.com
www.capablecommunity.com
info@senseofcommunity.com
Association for the Study and Development of Community