Abstract
This study examined whether the 10-item workplace domain of the Belonging Barometer is psychometrically valid for measuring workplace belonging among child welfare workers. The child welfare field is a high-stakes profession with high turnover and occupational stress, and a sense of belonging has been proposed as a potential factor mitigating these negative workforce outcomes. This study assessed the Barometer’s factor structure and whether belonging in this context is best represented as a unidimensional or multidimensional construct.
Survey data were collected from employees of a large [MASKED] child welfare agency. Using a mean-adjusted weighted least squares estimation, the authors conducted confirmatory factor analyses to compare a one-factor model with a two-factor model distinguishing organizational and interpersonal belonging. The one-factor model demonstrated inadequate fit (χ2 = 394.30, df = 35, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.93; TLI = 0.91; RMSEA = 0.23; SRMR = 0.10), and while the two-factor model separating organization-oriented items and interpersonal-oriented items improved fit (χ2 = 243.51, df = 34, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.96; TLI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.18; SRMR = 0.08), neither model met conventional thresholds for good fit.
These findings indicate that belonging is a salient but not fully captured construct for child welfare workers and suggest that the Belonging Barometer, as developed for the general workforce, provides only partial coverage of workplace belonging in this context. Building on the Barometer’s conceptualization, the child welfare field may benefit from the development of a field‑specific, multidimensional measure that more accurately reflects workers’ experiences of belonging in their roles.