The discriminant validity of perceptual incivility measures

Researchers have been unable to determine whether individuals' estimates of incivilities can be separated from constructs such as crime and victimization. Accordingly, survey respondents' perceptions of incivilities were compared first to their perceptions of neighborhood crime and then to their personal victimization-experiences. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that perceptions of incivitities (of the physical variety) loaded on factors separate from personal victimization. It was not clear, however, whether perceptions of incivitities were independent from perceived crime. Even so, the findings provide some evidence that estimates of. incivilities represent a construct separate from estimates,of crime, thereby increasing the likelihood that certain perceptual incivility measures enjoy discriminant validity.