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Monday, 31 October 2011
Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to understand the importance of measuring acculturation in immigrant population.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to understand the necessity of valid method of combining data from scales in more than one language.
Given the growing cultural diversity in the U.S. and health disparities among immigrant populations, it is essential to understand the dynamics of acculturation in these groups and measure this important concept in research. The purposes of this study were to examine acculturation of Korean Americans and to explore whether data from two independent samples that completed an English or Korean version of an acculturation survey could be combined. This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study in a convenience sample of 517 Korean American adults and was based on the theoretical foundation presented by Berry’s bidimensional acculturation model. Participants completed a mail survey in either English or Korean. The researcher examined acculturation using Lee’s Acculturation Scale, and analyzed the data using cluster analysis. The psychometric properties were examined using confirmatory factor analysis and internal consistency reliability. The findings revealed statistically significant differences in characteristics of participants by choice of language version. Of special interest were discrepancies in the psychometric properties of the acculturation scale and types of acculturation in each group. Considering the importance of language in measuring acculturation, researchers and practitioners should aware the very act of choosing preferred language in completing survey may affect the findings of acculturation. This study also supports the necessity of statistical analyses to validate combining acculturation data from scales in more than one language, even when methods are used to develop equivalent versions of measurement tools. Further studies on acculturation in Korean Americans and other ethnic populations will continue to build an understanding of these complex issues and how to best measure acculturation across diverse groups.