Carrie B Oser1, Justin Strickland2, Evan J Batty3, Erin Pullen4, Michele Staton5. 1. Department of Sociology, Center on Drug & Alcohol Research, Center for Health Equity Transformation, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA. 2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. 3. Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA. 4. Indiana University Network Science Institute, Bloomington, Indiana, USA. 5. Department of Behavioral Science, Center on Drug & Alcohol Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to conduct a psychometric evaluation of a new 35-item survey developed in the United States to measure rural identity. METHODS: Factor structure, reliability, convergent validity, and incremental validity of the Rural Identity Scale (RIS) were examined using two datasets. Study 1 examined RIS psychometric properties using survey data collected from substance use treatment counselors in a southeastern state (n = 145), while Study 2 used data collected from women incarcerated in rural jails (n = 400). FINDINGS: A one-factor structure containing 15 items was identified in the RIS, with acceptable internal reliability (α = .72-.83). In Study 1, participants from rural counties had significantly higher RIS scores than their urban counterparts. In both studies, convergent validity was evaluated and the RIS scores were significantly associated with other measures relevant to identity and rurality at the bivariate level. Incremental validity was supported in multivariable models as the RIS scores were significantly and uniquely associated with primary rural place variables in each sample. CONCLUSIONS: This study is an initial step toward a reliable, valid scale measuring rural identity. RIS may be especially beneficial to health research as a methodological tool that can contextualize health behaviors among rural populations and highlight potential interventions to promote health equity.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to conduct a psychometric evaluation of a new 35-item survey developed in the United States to measure rural identity. METHODS: Factor structure, reliability, convergent validity, and incremental validity of the Rural Identity Scale (RIS) were examined using two datasets. Study 1 examined RIS psychometric properties using survey data collected from substance use treatment counselors in a southeastern state (n = 145), while Study 2 used data collected from women incarcerated in rural jails (n = 400). FINDINGS: A one-factor structure containing 15 items was identified in the RIS, with acceptable internal reliability (α = .72-.83). In Study 1, participants from rural counties had significantly higher RIS scores than their urban counterparts. In both studies, convergent validity was evaluated and the RIS scores were significantly associated with other measures relevant to identity and rurality at the bivariate level. Incremental validity was supported in multivariable models as the RIS scores were significantly and uniquely associated with primary rural place variables in each sample. CONCLUSIONS: This study is an initial step toward a reliable, valid scale measuring rural identity. RIS may be especially beneficial to health research as a methodological tool that can contextualize health behaviors among rural populations and highlight potential interventions to promote health equity.
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