African immigrant acculturation scales in the USA: A systematic review

Abstract

Abstract Acculturation consists of a process of learning and adapting the behaviours and cultural values of another cultural group. However, the conceptualisation and measurement of acculturation is inconsistent across scholars. Therefore, the authors systematically reviewed the acculturation literature to identify and assess the psychometric properties of acculturation measures with African immigrants in the USA. This systematic review was conducted based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Studies were included if they used a quantitative methodology, were published in English and used acculturation measure, and involved immigrants from any African country. The search resulted in 1,882 studies, of which ten studies were included in the review. This review identified that studies utilised nine different acculturation measures originally developed for other ethnic groups. Findings also indicated that some studies reported reliability and validity scores, while others did not report psychometric analysis. Our findings highlight the need to adapt and test reliable and valid acculturation measures. Future studies should consider robust psychometric assessments to ensure the accuracy of the instrument with the target population. Such information is pertinent to social workers in understanding the acculturation experiences of African immigrants and refugees and developing cultural interventions.