The reliability and validity of a questionnaire describing neighborhood characteristics relevant to families and young children living in urban areas

The neighborhood characteristics questionnaire (Simcha-Fagan and Schwartz, 1986) was modified to be relevant to families with young children living in urban areas, to be sufficiently brief to be included in needs assessment evaluations, and to be useful with families from a range of ethnic backgrounds. The modified form has four scales created conceptually and confirmed by factor analysis. They describe residents' perceptions of street crime and life quality, social relationships and networks among neighbors, attachment to the neighborhood, and neighborhood disorder. Reliability was established by internal consistency and validity by relationships with other psychosocial factors, and comparison with observations of the neighborhood. Internal consistency of all four scales of the neighborhood characteristics questionnaire was high. Agreement between observers and interview respondents was clearest for scales representing social disorganization. The use of the questionnaire in the evaluation of community intervention programs is discussed.