Habitability and residential satisfaction in irregular settlements of Mazatlán: Preliminary psychometric properties of a scale

Irregular settlements concentrate deficits in tenure, infrastructure and hazard exposure, yet the way their residents appraise their dwelling and neighbourhood cannot be inferred from those deficits. This instrumental study examined the preliminary psychometric properties of a residential satisfaction scale for irregular settlements, with ten items and two dimensions, Satisfaction with living in the settlement and Physical conditions of the dwelling, in the pilot survey of project FZ-HAB-0008 on the Factoriza UAS platform in Mazatlán. With a cross-sectional design, 20 cases out of a target of 100 were analysed while data collection remained open. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega total, an exploratory factor analysis and the Spearman correlation between dimensions were estimated. Internal consistency was acceptable for Physical conditions (α = .774; ω = .815) and moderate for Satisfaction (α = .687; ω = .732), with the reverse-worded items as the least coherent. With intermediate sampling adequacy (KMO = .697), parallel analysis suggested a single factor on which the eight positively worded items loaded, and the correlation between dimensions was moderate (ρ = .417). Residents felt part of their neighbourhood and rated their dwelling moderately well, but their intention to stay was the lowest rating. The flooding item behaved as a distinct facet of hazard exposure.