Validation of a Community Belonging Measure for Youth and Adults
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11044501 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kate Van Kessel (0000-0002-4677-8008, Department of Psychology University of Ottawa Ottawa Ontario Canada), Serena McDiarmid (0000-0002-9600-9813, Department of Psychology University of Waterloo Waterloo Ontario Canada), Dillon T Browne (0000-0002-7445-6604, Department of Psychology University of Waterloo Waterloo Ontario Canada), Children and Youth Planning Table of Waterloo Region, Heather A Henderson (0000-0002-1668-4203, Department of Psychology University of Waterloo Waterloo Ontario Canada) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Community Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0090-4392 • E-ISSN: 1520-6629 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/jcop.70089 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 65 |
Measuring community belonging is of interest to community organizations and practitioners, yet few tools exist. Here we validate a novel measure of community belonging: the Where I Belong Survey – Youth/Adult Version (WIBS). In Study 1, the psychometric properties and factor structure of the survey were examined in three Canadian samples of youth and young adults ( n = 249; 840; 443, respectively), and results were used to refine the survey. In Study 2, the psychometric properties and factor structure of the revised 16‐item WIBS were examined in a sample of Canadian undergraduates ( n = 476). Results suggest the WIBS is psychometrically sound, as demonstrated through a pattern of excellent reliability, good convergent validity, and good to fair discriminant validity. Results revealed a two‐factor solution with factors for Interpersonal Belonging and Context Belonging, consistent with prior theoretical work on community belonging
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |