Scale Overview
The Perceived Community Problems – Chicago Youth Development Study (PCP-CYDS) was developed by Patrick H. Tolan, Deborah Gorman-Smith, & David B. Henry (2001). It is designed to measure Perceived community problems. The scale is intended for use with Adolescents and youths.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 14 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Block Problems, Neighborhood Problems.
| Factor / Subscale |
Items |
N |
| Block Problems |
1,2,3,4,5,6 |
6 |
| Neighborhood Problems |
7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 |
8 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Strongly agree (Items 1-10) / A little (Items 11-14), 2 = Agree (Items 1-10) / Some (Items 11-14), 3 = Neither (Items 1-10) / Pretty much (Items 11-14), 4 = Disagree (Items 1-10) / A lot (Items 11-14), 5 = Strongly disagree (Items 1-10) / A serious problem (Items 11-14).
The scale includes 1 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Item scores are averaged to produce a mean score.
Total scores range from 1 to 5. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low level of perceived community problems: 1 – 2
- Moderate level of perceived community problems: 2 – 3
- High level of perceived community problems: 3 – 5
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not specified.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.