La perceived urban safety assessment scale: uno strumento per la misurazione multidimensionale dell’insicurezza

Abstract

One of the issues highlighted by the scholars in criminological literature about “fear of crime” and “unsafety” is the lack of attention paid to the quality of the measures used. This work describes the process of validation of a scale measuring perceived urban safety. Starting from the main theoretical frameworks, validation was carried out in Italy across several stages, using exploratory factor analyses and structural equation modelling. Convergent validity was studied and reliability was assessed with Cronbach’s Alpha and a test-retest analysis. The final model is based on 3 dimensions and 27 items. Fit indexes are satisfactory (CMIN/DF=1,271; RMSEA=0,026) and also reliability present good values. The assessment tool named PUSAS (Perceived Urban Safety Assessment Scale) shows good psychometric qualities, although further research is needed in order to verify the invariance.