Validation of a Brief Sense of Community Scale: Confirmation of the principal theory of sense of community

First-order and second-order models of sense of community (SOC) were tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of data gathered from a random sample of community residents (n = 293) located in the midwestern United States. An 8-item Brief Sense of Community Scale (BSCS) was developed to represent the SOC dimensions of needs fulfillment, group membership, influence, and shared emotional connection. The CFA results for the BSCS supported both the scale's hypothesized first-order and second-order factor structure. The overall BSCS scale and its subscales were also found to be correlated as expected with community participation, psychological empowerment, mental health, and depression. Findings provide empirical support for the BSCS and its underlying multidimensional theory of SOC. Implications of the study are described and directions for future research discussed. (C) Wiley Periodicals, Inc.