Brief Sense of Community Scale – BSCS
Measures an individual's psychological sense of community within their neighborhood across four dimensions.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Brief Sense of Community Scale – BSCS was developed by N. Andrew Peterson, Paul W. Speer, & David W. McMillan (2008). It is designed to measure Sense of Community. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 8 items organized into 4 factors/subscales: Needs fulfillment, Group membership, Influence, Emotional connection.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Needs fulfillment | 1,2 | 2 |
| Group membership | 3,4 | 2 |
| Influence | 5,6 | 2 |
| Emotional connection | 7,8 | 2 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree).
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 8 to 40. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Sense of Community: 8 – 18
- Moderate Sense of Community: 19 – 30
- High Sense of Community: 31 – 40
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach's alpha ranges from .77 to .84 for subscales.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 3 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.