This article presents the validation by confirmatory factor analysis of abbreviated versions of instruments focusing on the neighborhood residential level, perceived residential environment quality indicators (PREQIs), and neighborhood attachment (NA). A sample of 1,488 residents in various neighborhoods of 11 Italian middle- and low-population cities filled in a questionnaire including 12 scales (N = 158), 11 PREQ scales, and 1 NA scale. The sample was randomly split-half in a calibration sample and a validation sample. Results showed good fit indexes for factorial structures including overall 19 PREQIs and 1 NA indicators, each one composed of three or four items (N = 66). Despite the high reduction of items, the shortened PREQIs and NA yield good or at least acceptable internal consistency, and fulfill convergent and discriminant construct validity criteria. Hence, they are well suited for use in research designs focusing on multiple measures of environmental quality of residential places.
Amérigo, M. ( 2002). A psychological approach to the study of residential satisfaction. In J. I. Aragones, G. Francescato, & T. Gärling (Eds.), Residential environments. Choice satisfaction and behavior (pp. 81-100). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
2.
Amerigo, M., & Aragones, J.M. (1997). A theoretical approach to the study of residential satisfaction. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 17, 47-57.
Bailey, K.D. ( 1978). Methods of social research. New York : Free Press.
5.
Bentler, P., & Bonnet, D.G. ( 1980). Significance tests and goodness-of-fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 68, 588-606.
6.
Bonaiuto, M. ( 2004). Residential satisfaction and perceived residential environment quality. In C. Spielberger (Ed.), Encyclopedia of applied psychology (pp. 267-272). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
7.
Bonaiuto, M., Aiello, A., Perugini, M., Bonnes, M., & Ercolani, A.P. (1999). Multidimensional perception of residential environment quality and neighbourhood attachment in the urban environment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 19, 331-352.
8.
Bonaiuto, M., Fornara, F., & Bonnes, M. ( 2003). Indexes of perceived residential environment quality and neighbourhood attachment in urban environments: A confirmation study on the city of Rome. Landscape and Urban Planning, 65, 41-52.
9.
Bonaiuto, M., Fornara, F., & Bonnes, M. ( 2006). Perceived residential environment quality in middle- and low-extension Italian cities. Revue Européenne de Psychologie Appliquée, 56, 23-34.
10.
Bonnes, M., Bonaiuto, M., Aiello, A., Perugini, M., & Ercolani, A.P. (1997). A transactional perspective on residential satisfaction. In C. Despres & D. Piché (Eds.), Housing surveys. Advances in theory and methods (pp. 99-135). Quebec City, Quebec, Canada: Crad.
11.
Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base. London: Routledge .
12.
Brown, B., & Perkins, P. ( 1992). Disruption in place attachment. In I. Altman & S. Low (Eds.), Place attachment, human behavior and environment (pp. 279-304). New York: Plenum Press.
13.
Browne, M.W., & Cudeck, R. ( 1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136-162). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
14.
Byrne, B.M. ( 1989). A primer of Lisrel: Basic applications programming for confirmatory factor analytic models. New York: Springer-Verlag.
15.
Byrne, B.M. ( 1998). Structural equation modeling with LISREL, PRELIS and SIMPLIS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
16.
Canter, D. ( 1983). The purposive evaluation of places: A facet approach . Environment and Behavior, 15, 659-698.
17.
Carp, F.M., & Carp, A. ( 1982). Perceived environmental quality of neighborhoods: Development of assessment scales and their relation to age and gender. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2, 245-312.
18.
Chou, C., & Bentler, P.M. ( 1990). Model modification in covariance structure modeling: A comparison among likelihood ratio, Lagrange multiplier, and Wald tests. Multivariate Behavioural Research, 25, 115-136.
19.
Corral-Verdugo, V. ( 2002). Structural equation modeling. In R. Bechtel & A. Churchman (Eds.), Handbook of environmental psychology (pp. 256-270). New York: Wiley.
20.
Craik, K., & Feimer, N. ( 1987). Environmental assessment. In D. Stokols & I. Altman (Eds.), Handbook of environmental psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 891-918). New York: John Wiley.
21.
Craik, K. H., & Zube, F. (Eds.). (1976). Perceiving environmental quality: Research and application. New York: Plenum Press.
22.
Cudeck, R., & Browne, M.W. ( 1983). Cross-validation of covariance structures. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 18, 147-167.
23.
Fornara, F., Bonaiuto, M., Bonnes, M., Carrus, G., & Passafaro, P. ( 2006). Sustainability and residential satisfaction within exclusive residential complexes in the city of Rome. In D. Shehayeb, H. Turgut Yildiz, & P. Kellet (Eds.), Appropriate home: Can we design "appropriate" residential environments? (pp. 37-48). Cairo, Egypt: Housing & Building National Research Centre .
24.
Francescato, G. ( 2002). Residential satisfaction research: The case for and against . In J. I. Aragones, G. Francescato, & T. Gärling (Eds.), Residential environments. Choice satisfaction and behavior (pp. 15-34). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.
25.
Gerbing, D.W., & Anderson, J.C. (1993). Monte Carlo evaluations of goodness-of-fit indices for structural equation models. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 40-65). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
26.
Gifford R. ( 2002). Environmental psychology: Principles and practice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
27.
Giuliani, M.V. ( 2003). Theory of attachment and place attachment. In M. Bonnes, T. Lee, & M. Bonaiuto (Eds.), Psychological theories for environmental issues (pp. 137-170). Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.
28.
Gómez-Jacinto, L., & Hombrados-Mendieta, I. (2002). Multiple effects of community and household crowding. Journal of Environmental Psychology , 22, 233-246.
29.
Hay, R. ( 1998). Sense of place in developmental context. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18, 5-29.
30.
Haynes, S.N., Richard, D.C.S., & Kubany, E.S. ( 1995). Content validity in psychological assessment: A functional approach to concepts and methods. Psychological Assessment , 7, 238-247.
31.
Hox, J.J., & Bechger, T.M. ( 1998). An introduction to structural equation modeling. Family Science Review, 11, 354-373.
32.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P.M. ( 1999). Cutoff criteria in fix indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1-55.
33.
Hummon, D.M. ( 1992). Community attachment: Local sentiment and sense of place . In I. Altman & S. Low (Eds.), Place attachment (pp. 253-277). New York: Plenum Press.
Korpela, K.M. ( 1989). Place-identity as a product of environmental self-regulation . Journal of Environmental Psychology, 9, 241-256.
36.
Kyle, G., & Chick, G. ( 2002). The social nature of leisure environment. Journal of Leisure Research, 34, 426-448.
37.
Lawrence, R.J. ( 2002). Healthy residential environments. In R. Bechtel & A. Churchman (Eds.), Handbook of environmental psychology (pp. 394-412). New York: John Wiley.
38.
Lewicka, M. ( 2005). Ways to make people active: The role of place attachment, cultural capital, and neighborhood ties. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 25, 381-395.
39.
Lu, M. ( 1998). Analyzing migration decision-making: Relationships between residential satisfaction, mobility intentions, and moving behavior. Environment and Planning A, 30, 473-495.
40.
Mannarini, T., Tartaglia, S., Fedi, A., & Greganti, K. ( 2006). Image of neighbourhood, self-image and sense of community . Journal of Environmental Psychology, 26, 202-214.
41.
Marans, R.W. ( 2003). Understanding environmental quality through quality of life studies: The 2001 DAS and its use of objective and subjective indicators . Landscape and Urban Planning, 65, 73-83.
42.
Marsh, H.W., Balla, J.R., & McDonald, R.P. (1988). Goodness-of-fit indices in confirmatory factor analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 391-410.
43.
Marsh, H.W., Hau, K.T., Balla, J.R., & Grayson, D. ( 1998). Is more ever too much: The number of indictors per factor in confirmatory factor analysis. Multivariate Behavioural Research, 33, 181-220.
44.
McAndrew, F.T. ( 1998). The measurement of "rootedness" and the prediction of attachment to home-towns in college students. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18, 409-417.
45.
Milligan, M.J. ( 1998). Interactional past and potential: The social construction of place attachment. Symbolic Interaction, 21, 1-33.
46.
Nunnally, J.C., & Bernstein, I.H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
47.
Perkins, D.D., Florin, P., Rich, R., Wandersman, A., & Chavis, D.M. ( 1990). Participation and the social and physical environment of residential blocks: Crime and community context. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18, 83-115.
48.
Proshansky, H., Fabian, A.K., & Kaminoff, R. ( 1983). Place-identity: Physical world socialization of the self . Journal of Environmental Psychology, 3, 57-83.
49.
Rantanen, H., & Kahila, M. (in press). SoftGIS approach to local knowledge. Journal of Environmental Management.
50.
Relph, E. (1976). Place and placelessness. London: Pion.
51.
Rosenberg, M.J., & Hovland, C.I. ( 1960). Cognitive, affective and behavioural components of attitudes . In C. I. Hovland & M. J. Rosenberg (Eds.), Attitude, organization and change (pp. 1-14). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
52.
Sanoff, H. ( 2000). Community participation methods in design and planning . New York: John Wiley.
53.
Schumaker, R.E., & Lomax, R.G. ( 1996). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
54.
Stokols, D. ( 1987). Conceptual strategies of environmental psychology. In D. Stokols & I. Altman (Eds.), Handbook of environmental psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 41-70). New York: Wiley .
55.
Stokols, D., & Schumaker, S.A. (1981). People and places: A transactional view of settings. In J. Harvey (Ed.), Cognition, social behavior, and the environment (pp. 441-488). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
56.
Tognoli, J. ( 1987). Residential environments. In D. Stokols & I. Altman (Eds.), Handbook of environmental psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 655-690). New York: Wiley.
57.
Twigger-Ross, C.L., & Uzzell, D. ( 1996). Place and identity processes. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 16, 205-220.
58.
Vorkinn, M., & Riese, H. ( 2001), Environmental concern in a local context. The significance of place attachment. Environment and Behavior, 33, 249-263.
59.
Yuan, K.H., Marshall L.L., & Weston R. ( 2002). Cross-validation by downweighting influential cases in structural equation modelling. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 55, 125-143.
60.
Zimring, C. ( 2002). Postoccupancy evaluation: Issues and implementation. In R. Bechtel & A. Churchman (Eds.), Handbook of environmental psychology (pp. 306-319). New York: John Wiley.
