Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 23, 2025

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Assessing the Modified Neighborhood Cohesion Index Among African American Adolescents Living in Public Housing: An
Melissa L Villodas1, Von E Nebbitt2, Margaret Lombe3
1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Objective:
African American youth are disproportionately overrepresented in low-resourced segregated urban neighborhoods. Consequently, they experience greater exposure to neighborhood risks and subsequent depressive symptoms. Neighborhood cohesion represents a protective factor for youth in such environments. However, the concept remains underexplored among African American youth. This study examines the psychometric properties of a modified version of the Neighborhood Cohesion Index (NCI) among African American youth living in public housing.
Method:
Psychometric properties were assessed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using data from African American youth (N = 235) living in public housing in two large northeastern cities.
Results:
The EFA resulted in the use of a single-factor structure with two dropped items and good internal validity. Findings from the CFA indicated that model fit indices were unacceptable for chi-square and RMSEA (χ2 [62; N = 235] = 170.19, p < .001); RMSEA = 0.09 [90% CI: 0.071, 0.102]) but were acceptable for SRMR and CFI (SRMR = 0.06; CFI = 0.91) with three error covariances.
Conclusions:
The modified NCI is not ideal for assessing neighborhood cohesion among this understudied population. Future research should prioritize psychometric testing alongside cognitive interviewing, to provide a contextualized measure of neighborhood cohesion for this population.
Related Concept Videos
Surveys
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Kendall's Coefficient of Concordance
Relationship Formation
Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Community Based Intervention
Foundations of Community Mental Health Programs
Central to the success of community-based interventions is the...

