Assessing the measurement properties of neighborhood scales: From psychometrics to ecometrics
Assessing the measurement properties of neighborhood scales: From psychometrics to ecometrics
复制标题
DOI：
10.1093/aje/kwm040
复制
发表时间：
2007-04-15
影响因子：
5
通讯作者：
Raghunathan, Trivellore
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Mujahid, Mahasin S.;Roux, Ana V. Diez;Raghunathan, Trivellore
大多数研究探讨居住环境和健康之间的关系，使用人口普查派生的措施邻里社会经济地位（SEP）。有必要确定相关的疾病风险的社区的具体功能，但这些功能存在的措施很少，他们的测量性能研究不足。在本文中，作者1）开发的措施（规模）的邻里环境是重要的心血管疾病的风险，2）评估这些措施的心理测量和生态测量属性，和3）检查个人和邻里水平的预测这些措施。2004年，通过对美国三个研究地点（马里兰州的巴尔的摩;北卡罗来纳州的福赛斯县;和纽约，纽约）的5，988名居民进行电话调查，收集了有关社区状况的数据。收集的信息涵盖了邻里环境的七个方面（美学质量，步行环境，健康食品的可用性，安全，暴力，社会凝聚力和与邻居的活动）。社区被定义为人口普查区或人口普查组。Cronbach α系数范围为0.73 - 0.83，重测信度为0.60-0.88。在大多数尺度下，人口普查区的邻里相关系数为0.28-0.51，邻里可靠性为0.64-0.78。邻里尺度与邻里SEP密切相关，但也提供了不同于邻里SEP的信息。这些结果说明了一种方法，用于评估邻里水平的结构的测量属性，并表明这些结构可以可靠地测量。
Most studies examining the relation between residential environment and health have used census-derived measures of neighborhood socioeconomic position (SEP). There is a need to identify specific features of neighborhoods relevant to disease risk, but few measures of these features exist, and their measurement properties are understudied. In this paper, the authors 1) develop measures (scales) of neighborhood environment that are important in cardiovascular disease risk, 2) assess the psychometric and ecometric properties of these measures, and 3) examine individual- and neighborhood-level predictors of these measures. In 2004, data on neighborhood conditions were collected from a telephone survey of 5,988 residents at three US study sites (Baltimore, Maryland; Forsyth County, North Carolina; and New York, New York). Information collected covered seven dimensions of neighborhood environment (aesthetic quality, walking environment, availability of healthy foods, safety, violence, social cohesion, and activities with neighbors). Neighborhoods were defined as census tracts or census clusters. Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranged from 0.73 to 0.83, with test-retest reliabilities of 0.60-0.88. Intraneighborhood correlations were 0.28-0.51, and neighborhood reliabilities were 0.64-0.78 for census tracts for most scales. The neighborhood scales were strongly associated with neighborhood SEP but also provided information distinct from neighborhood SEP. These results illustrate a methodological approach for assessing the measurement properties of neighborhood-level constructs and show that these constructs can be measured reliably.