Measure of Acculturation for Chicano Adolescents

Abstract

A paper-and-pencil measure of acculturation for Chicano adolescents was developed using multiple regression techniques and 924 Chicano and Anglo high school students in three Southern California communities. A linear combination of sociocultural and semantic diffèrential variables provided for optimal discrimination between Chicanos and Anglos. The acculturation score for an individual was defined as the linear combination of semantic and sociocultural variables which provided the best least squares estimate of that individual's score on a dichotomous variable in which Chicanos were assigned a value of 0 and Anglos a value of 1. A double cross-validation procedure indicated that the 20-variable regression equation is reasonably stable from the first sample to the next, yielding validity coefficients from .66 to .80. An ancillary study of 129 Chicano and Anglo junior college students showed scores are stable 2 or 3 wk.; test-retest reliability ranged from .66 to .89. A factor analysis of the items included in the regression equation resulted in three factors; two were slightly intercorrelated and loaded primarily with sociocultural variables pertaining to language spoken at home, nationality, and socioeconomic status of the head of household. The third factor was essentially orthogonal to the other two and showed high loadings for semantic differential scales for concepts, “mother,” “father,” and “male” on the Potency dimension. Chicanos vary widely along the derived acculturation continuum. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed with respect to educational and psychological assessment.