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Measuring Community Integration: Development and Psychometrics of the Community Connections and Engagement Scale

Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research volume 48, pages 619–632 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

The objective of this community-based participatory research project was to develop a clinically useful, psychometrically-sound scale to measure community integration for adults with severe mental illness. Two researchers and an administrator of a behavioral health agency (BHA) recruited a group of providers, half with lived-experience of severe mental illness. Through a series of five focus groups, provider participants guided identification of four major domains of community integration and the development of 95 scale items; items and domains were reviewed by three external researchers with subject matter expertise. Initial pilot: BHA providers administered the scale to clients (n = 51) with 19 completing it twice to investigate internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and restricted variance and collinearity of items. Further piloting: providers at two BHAs administered the scale to clients (n = 178) to conduct exploratory factor analysis and analyze internal consistency. After initial pilot, 50 items remained post item reduction for restricted variance and collinearity, with Cronbach’s alpha of .95 and test–retest reliability of .90. After a larger pilot, a four-factor solution emerged, aligning conceptually with the four domains as anticipated; 33 items loaded (factor loadings ≥ .4), with RMSEA of .069 and overall Cronbach’s alpha of .89 (subdomains ranging .78–.86). The scale has good preliminary psychometric properties and appears to be feasible for use in BHAs for the purposes of research and evaluation, with clinical utility for assessment and treatment planning.

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Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Washington, 4101 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA

    Ryan Petros & Galen Kerrick

  2. Georgian Court University, 900 Lakewood Avenue, Lakewood, NJ, 08701, USA

    Mary Kay Tuohy

  3. Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, Bryn Mawr College, 101 North Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA, 19010, USA

    Sara Bressi

  4. School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania, 3701 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Phyllis Solomon

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  1. Ryan Petros
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Correspondence to Ryan Petros.

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Petros, R., Tuohy, M.K., Bressi, S. et al. Measuring Community Integration: Development and Psychometrics of the Community Connections and Engagement Scale. Adm Policy Ment Health 48, 619–632 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-020-01095-2

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Keywords

  • Severe mental illness
  • Community integration
  • Measurement
  • Community-based participatory research