Place attachment and perceived insecurity on the Mazatlán malecón

The Mazatlán malecón is a coastal public space valued by local residents and, at the same time, a setting for experiences of insecurity. This study examined, using a preliminary data cut from the pilot survey of project FZ-HAB-0003 on the Factoriza UAS platform, the initial psychometric properties of a ten-item scale with two dimensions, Bond with the malecón and Fear on the malecón, and the association between them. With a cross-sectional design, 14 cases out of a target of 100 were analysed while data collection remained open. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega total, an exploratory factor analysis with minimum residual extraction, oblimin rotation and parallel analysis, and the Spearman correlation between dimensions were estimated. Internal consistency was high (α = .848 and ω = .870 for Bond; α = .812 and ω = .839 for Fear), but sampling adequacy was very low (KMO = .283). Parallel analysis suggested two factors that accounted for 66.67% of the variance and did not reproduce the intended dimensions: bond items clustered with two fear items loading in the opposite direction, while vigilance, fear of robbery and night-time insecurity defined the second factor. The correlation between dimensions was ρ = -.367, 95% CI [-.759, .222]. The findings do not yet provide sufficient structural validity evidence and point to specific revisions of the instrument before data collection is closed.