Metric properties of the neighborhood inventory for environmental typology (NIfETy): An environmental assessment tool for measuring indicators of violence, alcohol, tobacco, and other drug exposures

Objectives: Establish metric properties of the Neighborhood Inventory for Environmental Typology (NIfETy). Method: A total of 919 residential block faces were assessed by paired raters using the NIfETy. Reliability was evaluated via interrater and internal consistency reliability; validity by comparing NIfETy data with youth self-reported violence, alcohol, and other drug exposure and crime statistics. Results: Validity and reliability metrics were moderate to exemplary for the total scale and subscales. NIfETy data correlated strongly with crime data and youth self-reported exposure. Conclusions: The NIfETy is valid and reliable. Future investigations will explore its use in other urban centers and association to other health outcomes.