Face-to-Face neighborhood communication: Instrument development and pattern exploration in Korean apartment contexts

• Developed a 15-item questionnaire with four dimensions: attitude, strong-tie intimacy, consideration, and needs. • "Considerate distance pattern" (high consideration, low intimacy) reflects adaptive weak-tie maintenance, not social failure. • Broader neighborhood scope and older age associated with higher, more unified communication patterns. • Younger residents showed bifurcated communication classes; older adults (60+) exhibited unified distributions. • Integrated Korean ye-jeol/bae-ryeo norms with weak-tie theory for cross-cultural application. Face-to-face neighborhood communication remains understudied despite its importance for urban community functioning. This study developed a measurement instrument and explored dimensional structure and associated factors among 1,989 Korean apartment residents (October–December 2023). Exploratory factor analysis identified four dimensions: attitude ( ye-jeol ), strong-tie intimacy, consideration, and needs. A "considerate distance pattern" emerged where consideration scores (M=5.59/7) substantially exceeded strong-tie intimacy (M=2.35/7), suggesting effective weak-tie boundary maintenance rather than social failure. Latent class analysis revealed age-related structural differences: younger residents exhibited bifurcated communication patterns, whereas older adults (60+) demonstrated unified distributions. Broader neighborhood identification scope associated with higher communication scores across all dimensions. These findings reframe low intimacy as adaptive boundary work, integrating Korean cultural norms ( ye-jeol, bae-ryeo ) with weak-tie theory. The instrument provides a foundation for cross-cultural neighbor communication research, while age and scope associations generate hypotheses requiring longitudinal investigation.