Validation of the Personal Social Capital Scale

Background and Purpose The beneficial health (Poortina, 2006) and mental health (Whitley & McKenzie, 2005) outcomes associated with strong social networks and social resources have increased interest in social capital (Chen et al, 2008). Social capital consists of bonding (i.e., ties with similar individuals) and bridging relationships (i.e., ties with different individuals) that serve different social and socioemotional functions. Despite the importance of social capital, few rapid assessment instruments with sufficient validation evidence are available (Poortinga, 2006). The purpose of this study is to validate the English version of the Personal Social Capital Scale (PSCS) created by Chen et al. (2008).

Methods

Data Collection and Instrument Items

This validation was part of a larger study, which included a purposive sampling strategy to recruit individuals of Mexican descent (N=322) from two academic institutions in the Southwestern US. Participants were provided 10 composite items asking about the size, trustworthiness, and resources in their personal relationships (i.e., bonding social capital) and the social and cultural organizations (i.e., bridging social capital) in their community. The overall response rate for the study was 50% yielding N=322 usable cases.

Participants Women represented the largest portion of the sample (61%) compared to men (38%). The mean age of respondents was M=31.21, SD=11.94. Most individuals reported a relationships status of single (36%) or married (29%). Generational status was almost evenly distributed between 2nd (30%), 3rd (30%), or 4th (23.3%) with fewer individuals reporting 1st (13.7%).

Measures The Brief Sense of Community Scale (BSCS; Peterson, et al., 2008) and the Irrational Values Scale (IVS; MacDonald, 1972) were used to determine the convergent and discriminant validity of the PSCS. The BSCS (á=.92) and the IVS (á=.80) exhibited acceptable levels of reliability for the sample. Analytic Strategy

Cronbach's alpha was calculated to determine the reliability of scale scores. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was utilized to test the two-factor model. Following the CFA, the convergent and discriminant validity of the scale was examined utilizing Pearson's r (see Spring et al., 2002). It was hypothesized that scores on the PSCS would be positively correlated with BSCS scores and not correlated with IVS scores. Additionally, gender and relationship status were entered as predictors into simple regression models to establish the measure's criterion validity.

Results The 9-item Personal Social Capital Scale (á=.85) and bonding (á=.83) and bridging subscales (á=.85) demonstrated moderate reliability. The scale demonstrated acceptable model fit after utilizing modification indices: ÷2/df=2.18 (÷2=50.1, df=23), RMSEA=.06, CFI=.98, IFI=.98, RFI=.94, TLI=.97, and NFI=.96. As hypothesized, BSCS scores were positively correlated the PSCS scores (r=.44, p<.01) supporting the scale's convergent validity. However, PSCS scores were also correlated with IVS scores (r=.17, p<.01) failing to support the scale's discriminant validity. Gender was not a statistically significant predictor of social capital. However, married (â=-.154, p=.012), living with partner (â=-.215, p=.000), and divorce/widowed/separated (â=-.205, p=.001) were statistically significant.

Conclusion The PSCS demonstrated appropriate reliability and model fit. However, the scale's construct validity provided mixed results. Future research should accumulate greater validity evidence to understand social capital as a construct.