Young people's social agency and community action orientation: a partial least squares-path modeling approach using a self anchoring scale

In this paper we introduce the validation of a novel and specific indicator to measure social agency, namely Community Action Orientation (CAO). The study defines the CAO exploratory model as a second order Partial Least Squares-Path Model (PLSPM). The study identifies the latent variables of orientation toward the community selecting 14 items considered into three sets, suggesting how people invest in their local context on both a personal and collective level. Data have been collected through a self anchoring Cantril’s scale administered to 862 young people living in the administrative district of Naples. The exploratory analysis outcomes show a structure composed of three latent variables (dimensions), correlated with each other. We assumed that CAO is the endogenous variable in order to explain the agency of young individuals in their local context. To explain the interdependence among these latent variables, a theoretical model was hypothesized and constructed. Evidence of the use of the Cantril scale in conjunction with the PLS-PM corroborates the consistency of the approach.