Social capital in divided societies: development of a measure of social capital in Northern Ireland

The population of Northern Ireland is highly divided by religion across multiple aspects of social life including residence, education and employment. Increased understanding of the bonds between and across religious groups may shed light on the nature of group relations within this society. The social capital questionnaire (SCQ) was adapted for use in this religiously divided society. A 44 item pilot measure was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic techniques with two independent samples (N1 = 204, N2 = 251). EFA identified nine factors while confirmatory factor analysis revealed an acceptable model fit of an eight factor solution.