Component measures of psychological sense of community among gay men

Psychological Sense of Community (PSOC) theoretically comprises four components (Membership, Influence, Fulfillment of Needs, and Shared Emotional Connection), but existing measures of the components are psychometrically lacking. The current study sought to develop valid and reliable measures of the four theoretical components by building on and conceptually tightening items from existing PSOC measures, including the Sense of Community Index. Twenty‐six items were administered to 348 gay and bisexual men living in Arizona. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, a three‐factor model with Influence, Shared Emotional Connection, and Fulfillment of Needs/Belonging achieved the best fit; it was impossible, empirically, to distinguish between the Fulfillment of Needs and Belonging factors. Measures for these three PSOC components and the combined PSOC measure evidenced high reliabilities. Validity testing results supported the three component measures and the combined measure. Implications of the results for PSOC theory and research are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.