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Community competence: a positive approach to needs assessment
American Journal of Community Psychology
|October 1, 1985
Summary
A new questionnaire effectively measures community functioning perceptions in rural areas. It identifies key factors like participation and resource use, enhancing community competence assessment.
Area of Science:
- Community Psychology
- Sociology
- Rural Studies
Background:
- Assessing community functioning is crucial for targeted interventions.
- Existing measures may not fully capture residents' perceptions.
- Cottrell's community competence model provides a theoretical framework.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a questionnaire for assessing residents' perceptions of community functioning.
- To evaluate the questionnaire's ability to discriminate among different rural communities.
- To examine the extent to which the questionnaire aligns with Cottrell's community competence model.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire was developed based on Cottrell's work and refined by experts.
- Field testing was conducted in five rural communities.
- Telephone interviews surveyed 433 residents.
Main Results:
- 14 questionnaire items discriminated significantly among communities (ANOVA, F-test, p ≤ .008), representing six of Cottrell's eight competence conditions.
- Factor analysis identified four key factors: Democratic Participation Style, Crime, Resource Adequacy and Use, and Decision-Making Interactions.
- These four factors explained 35% of the variance and were consistent with Cottrell's model.
Conclusions:
- The developed questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for assessing community functioning perceptions.
- The findings support and extend Cottrell's community competence model in rural contexts.
- The study provides valuable insights for community research and intervention strategies.