Acculturation Rating Scale For Mexican Americans-II Research Articles

Association of Birthplace for Sleep Duration, Sleep Quality, and Sleep Disorder Symptoms, at the US–Mexico Border

ABSTRACT Objectives The present study investigated the roles birthplace and acculturation play in sleep estimates among Hispanic/Latino population at the US–Mexico border. Measures Data were collected in 2016, from N = 100 adults of Mexican descent from the city of Nogales, AZ, at the US–Mexico border. Sleep was assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index categorized as none, mild, moderate, and severe, and Multivariable Apnea Prediction Index (MAP) categorized as never, infrequently, and frequently. Acculturation was measured with the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican-Americans II (ARSMA-II). Results The sample consisted of majority Mexican-born (66%, vs. born in the USA 38.2%). Being born in the USA was associated with 55 fewer minutes of nighttime sleep (p = .011), and 1.65 greater PSQI score (p = .031). Compared to no symptoms, being born in the USA was associated with greater likelihood of severe difficulty falling asleep (OR = 8.3, p = .030) and severe difficulty staying asleep (OR = 11.2, p = .050), as well as decreased likelihood of breathing pauses during sleep (OR = 0.18, P = .020). These relationships remained significant after Mexican acculturation was entered in these models. However, greater Anglo acculturation appears to mediate one fewer hour of sleep per night, poorer sleep quality, and reporting of severe difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. Conclusions Among individuals of Mexican descent, being born in the USA (vs Mexico) is associated with about 1 hour less sleep per night, worse sleep quality, more insomnia symptoms, and less mild sleep apnea symptoms. These relationships are influenced by acculturation, primarily the degree of Anglo rather than the degree of Mexican acculturation.

Acculturation moderates cognitive performance in adults at risk of autosomal dominant Alzheimer's Disease

Loneliness is significantly associated with health and well-being among oldest-old adults. Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, physical and social distancing policies might elevate loneliness among the oldest-old population. This study examined the trends and changes in the prevalence of feeling lonely using the 2020 HRS COVID-19 module merged to the 15 waves of the HRS RAND longitudinal datasets from 1992 to 2018. A total of 14,371 respondents, including 614 respondents aged 80 years and older were included. Generalized linear models compared age group differences within the 2020 module. Generalized estimating equations assessed the longitudinal change at the individual level and the trend of feeling loneliness among oldest-old adults from 1992 to 2020. Loneliness was assessed with one item of the CES-D scale (i.e., during the past week, felt lonely). After adjusting for demographic characteristics and health, the results showed that oldest-old adults were more likely to feel lonely compared to younger age groups (18% for 80’s vs. 14% for 50’s) during the early months of the pandemic. A longitudinal trajectory also showed that they feel lonelier than in prior years (19% in 2020 vs. 14% in 2018). However, compared to same-age groups from earlier years, a significantly lower prevalence of feeling lonely was observed (18% in 2020 vs. 27% in 1994). The results show that the outbreak of the COVID-19 may elevate feeling lonely, but the recent cohorts be less lonely than earlier cohorts. Future research should continue to explore protective factors for loneliness among oldest-old adults.

Acculturation moderates cognitive performance in adults at risk of autosomal dominant Alzheimer's Disease.

Acculturative processes via persistent exposure to a set of cultural practices and behaviors can influence cognitive functioning (Park & Huang, 2010). The impact of acculturation on populations at risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), however, remains understudied. Persons with or at-risk for early-onset autosomal dominant AD (ADAD) offer a known AD pathogenesis and the opportunity to study whether acculturation moderates their cognitive performance. The present study used a latent variable model to test whether effects of latent cognitive ability on observable cognitive performance depend on acculturation. Participants included 119 adults with or at-risk for ADAD, the majority of whom were of Mexican origin with various levels of U.S. acculturation. Participants completed the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI) and the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to estimate a latent general cognitive ability factor from nine domains (e.g., attention, abstraction and judgment). The ARSMA-II was used to test whether factor loadings depended on level of acculturation, covarying for mutation status. Results revealed ARSMA-II scores nearly significantly moderated the effects of general cognitive ability on abstraction and judgment (λ = 0.20, SE = 0.11, p = .070). Individual differences in general cognitive ability at lower levels of acculturation likely predict lower abstraction and judgment performance. Cognitive assessments may not equally represent true cognitive ability in Mexican-Americans. Although the CASI was developed as a cross-cultural measure of cognitive functioning, caution should be exercised in inferring true cognitive functioning in Mexican-Americans who may not be acculturated to the U.S.

Abstract MP03: The Association of the Parent-Child Acculturation Gap With Obesity and Cardiometabolic Risk in Hispanic/Latino Youth: Results From the Hispanic Community Children's Health Study/Study of Latino Youth (SOL Youth)

Introduction: Hispanic/Latino youth are disproportionately burdened by obesity and have a high prevalence of pre-diabetes and dyslipidemia. Acculturation may help explain this elevated cardiometabolic risk. Within immigrant families, parents and children acculturate at different rates. A difference in the degree of acculturation, known as the “acculturation gap”, between parents and their children has been associated with behaviors that may increase cardiometabolic risk in youth. However, no previous studies have investigated the association between the parent-child acculturation gap and cardiometabolic health. Hypothesis: We tested whether greater gaps in parent-child acculturation were associated with worse cardiometabolic health in Hispanic/Latino youth. Methods: Hispanic/Latino youth ( n =1466, 8-16-year-olds) and parents from the Hispanic Community Children’s Health Study/Study of Latino Youth (SOL Youth) were examined. Mean scores on the Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) Anglo and Latino Orientation Scales (AOS and LOS, respectively) were used to represent parent and youth acculturation. The Brief ARSMA-II primarily assesses language use patterns on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with higher scores on the AOS indicating a preference for English and higher scores on the LOS indicating a preference for Spanish. Cardiometabolic markers included youth body mass index (BMI) percentile, blood pressure percentiles, fasting glucose, HOMA-IR, HbA1c, cholesterol, triglycerides, and hsCRP. Missing data were addressed using multiple imputation. Survey-weighted multivariable linear regression examined associations of youth, parent, and youth x parent (the acculturation gap) scores for the AOS and LOS scales separately with each cardiometabolic marker. Results: On average, compared to their parents, youth reported a greater preference for English and a lower preference for Spanish (AOS=4.2 vs. 2.7; LOS=3.1 vs. 4.2, respectively). Greater discordance (i.e., an acculturation gap) in parent and youth AOS scores was associated with elevated BMI percentile only (p-for-interaction≤0.001). The LOS acculturation gap was not associated with any cardiometabolic measures. Adjustment for acculturative stress, family functioning and closeness, parenting style, and youth’s diet and physical activity did not alter the findings. Removal of non-significant acculturation gaps indicated an inverse association between parent AOS score and youth SBP percentile (β=-2.47, 95% CI: -4.73, -0.21) and between parent LOS score and youth total cholesterol (β=-2.87, 95% CI: -5.52, -0.21). Conclusions: Discrepancies in English language use in parent-child dyads may relate to increased obesity risk in Hispanic/Latino youth. Future studies are needed to identify mediators of this association, such as general stress and English language fluency.

Longitudinal effects of acculturation and enculturation on mental health: Does the measure matter?

A great deal of research has focused on acculturation and enculturation, which represent the processes of adapting to a new culture. Despite this growing literature, results have produced inconsistent findings that may be attributable to differences in terms of the instruments used to assess acculturation and enculturation. Utilizing a 3-year longitudinal data set (with 1-year lags between assessments), the present study explored the psychometric properties of the Bicultural Involvement Questionnaire-Short Version (BIQ-S) and the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans II (ARSMA-II) and examined the overlap between changes in these measures as they relate to internalizing and externalizing problem behavior. The present sample consisted of 216 immigrant Latino youth (43% boys; mean age 13.6 years at baseline; SD = 1.44 years, range 10 to 17). Exploratory structural equation modeling identified factor structures for the BIQ-S and ARSMA-II that diverged from their hypothesized structure. Growth curve models also indicate divergence between the BIQ-S and ARSMA-II in terms of change in acculturation and enculturation processes. Finally, the present findings emphasized that measures of acculturation and enculturation are not equivalent in terms of their effects on internalizing and externalizing problems.

Daily and Nondaily Smoking Varies by Acculturation among English-Speaking, US Latino Men and Women.

Higher smoking prevalence and quantity (cigarettes per day) has been linked to acculturation in the United States among Latinas, but not Latino men. Our study examines variation between a different and increasingly important target behavior, smoking level (nondaily vs daily) and acculturation by sex. An online English-language survey was administered to 786 Latino smokers during July through August 2012. The Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) and other acculturation markers were used. Multinomial logistic regression models were implemented to assess the association between smoking levels (nondaily, light daily, and moderate/heavy daily) with acculturation markers. Greater ARMSA-II scores (relative risk ratio, RRR=.81, 95% CI: .72-.91) and being born inside the United States (RRR=.42, 95% CI: .24-.74) were associated with lower relative risk of nondaily smoking. Greater Latino orientation (RRR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.11-1.48) and preference for Spanish language (RRR=1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.10) and media (RRR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.05-1.20) were associated with higher relative risk of nondaily smoking. The relationship between acculturation and smoking level did not differ by sex. This study found that among both male and female, English-speaking Latino smokers, nondaily smoking was associated with lower acculturation, while daily smoking was linked with higher acculturation.

A tale of two measures: Concordance between the ARSMA-II and the BIQ acculturation scales among Latino immigrant families.

Acculturation refers to the extent to which an individual immigrant (or immigrant group) acquires the customs and characteristics of a new receiving society and/or retains the customs and characteristics of the person's or group's cultural heritage. Different acculturation measures are often assumed to be interchangeable, although this assumption is rarely tested empirically. The purpose of the present study was to examine the overlap between 2 commonly used measures of acculturation among individuals of Latino/Hispanic ancestry in the United States, the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans II (ARSMA-II) and the Bicultural Involvement Questionnaire-Short Version (BIQ-S). Specifically, we examined the ways in which scores from the 2 measures relate to one another, as well as similarities versus differences in the ways they predict external variables of interest (e.g., family functioning, parenting, and youth adjustment) that acculturation is known to influence. Findings indicate distinct patterns of results for the 2 measures. For instance, though the BIQ-S focuses entirely on language use and other cultural practices, the ARSMA-II more consistently relates to language variables. Further, adolescent BIQ-S cultural heritage scores related negatively to risks for and engagement in alcohol use-supporting prior findings-whereas ARSMA-II scores were unrelated to alcohol use. Given the largely nonoverlapping set of relationships of the BIQ-S and the ARSMA-II subscale scores with measures of language dominance and conflict, measures of parenting, and measures of youth outcomes, we recommend that studies utilize both of these measures to fully appraise acculturation in this population. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Influence of Acculturation on Traumatic Stress Following Childbirth Among Hispanic Adolescents.

Many studies have explored the role of acculturation on health outcomes; however, no studies to date have examined relationships between acculturation and the traumatic stress of childbirth among Hispanic adolescents. A convenience sample of 66 Hispanic adolescents 13 to 19 years of age completed the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II), a demographic sheet, birth appraisal scale, and the Impact of Event Scale within 72 hours of birth. Significant associations were found between the ARSMA-II subscales and acculturation proxy variables, excluding language; however, only the Mexican Orientation Subscale and generation proxy variable influenced the birth experience. The study findings showed that Hispanic adolescents reporting a more traumatic childbirth identified closer with the Mexican culture and reported fewer family generations residing in the United States. As an overlooked area of research, our findings support the need for additional research related to the traumatic stress of birth among Hispanic adolescents. Using multiple acculturation measurements, including the ARSMA-II, with larger, more diverse samples of adolescents, equally balanced between all categories of acculturation and placement within the five-tier generation matrix, can provide some insightful information and directed health care.

Bidimensional Measurement of Acculturation in a Sample of Pregnant Latinas and Their Biological Partners

Acculturation has been linked to a number of health outcomes for Latinos including depression, anxiety, self-esteem, substance use, and teen pregnancy. The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans–II (ARSMA-II) is one of the most frequently cited instruments for measuring acculturation in Latinos but empirical investigation of the latent factor structure has lagged behind its use. The main purpose of this study is to confirm the latent factor structure of a brief version of the ARSMA-II in a sample ( N = 205) of pregnant Latina adolescents and their male partners. Analyses revealed via confirmatory factor analysis that a 10-item bidimensional structure of this measure produced the best fit for the sample. Furthermore, a path analysis indicated direct effects between each of the latent factors and the health outcomes of substance use and depressive symptomatology. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Acculturation and Hispanic‐Heritage Mothers' Perception of Child Weight as Related to Child Feeding Practices

Hispanic children in the United States are disproportionately affected by obesity. Previous analysis revealed that mothers participating in the Abriendo Caminos intervention, aimed at preventing childhood obesity in Hispanic‐heritage families, incorrectly classified their overweight/obese child as normal weight. Effective obesity prevention efforts must consider mothers' roles in child feeding practices and their impact on child weight status over the life course. Acculturation and mother perception of weight may explain some child feeding practices. The aim of this study was to determine whether mothers' acculturation and perception of children's weight was associated with mothers' rationale for offering children snacks. Mother‐child dyads (n=53) of Mexican or Puerto Rican descent were recruited as part of the Abriendo Caminos randomized control/workshop multi‐state intervention. Here we report on the cross‐sectional baseline data acquired to date from participating mothers in the Illinois and California cohorts. The Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans‐II (ARSMA‐II) was used for assessment of acculturation and a set of questions previously developed by Blaine and colleagues (Nutrients, 2015) was used to assess the rationale behind offering snacks. Anthropometric measures were collected from all participants. One‐way ANOVA and Fisher's LSD were used to compare differences in mean times per week that snacks were offered. At baseline, 64% of children were overweight or obese, while only 24% of mothers categorized their child as such. Over half of the mothers (66%) were categorized with low levels of acculturation (very Hispanic oriented). There were no significant associations between child BMI, mother perception of child weight and reasons mothers offered snacks. Compared to mothers who were the least acculturated, those who were the most acculturated reported offering their child more snacks per week because their child was hungry (4.00, p < 0.05). A further understanding of how weight perceptions and acculturation influence health and feeding practices can equip professionals to provide culturally relevant tools for mothers to enact positive changes in their families.Support or Funding InformationThis research was supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2015‐68001‐23248 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Acculturation in a Pretreatment Sample of Latino Adolescents

The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans–II (ARSMA-II) is one of the most widely used measures of acculturation for Latinos. While the ARSMA-II is used quite often, there has been little research examining the latent factor structure of the measure. Furthermore, there has only been one prior study examining the factor structure with a sample of Latino adolescents. The primary purpose of the current study is to test three competing factor models of a brief version of the ARSMA-II in a pretreatment sample of Latino adolescents ( n = 106). Results from confirmatory factor analyses supported a nine-item two-factor structure for the sample in this study. A path analysis indicated that one of the factors was predictive of depressive symptoms but was mediated by the cultural variables familism and ethnic identity. The implications of study findings and suggestions for further refinement of this measure are discussed.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Acculturation Rating Scale–II Scale 2

The present study compared the dimensionality and viability of Cuéllar, Arnold, and Maldonado’s 18-item Marginality Scale to the recently proposed 17-item revision of this scale by Gutierrez, Franco, Powell, Peterson, and Reid. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a 15-item 3-factor solution based on Cuéllar et al. and a 17-item 2-factor solution based on Gutierrez et al. both produced adequate fits to the data. However, MANOVA results using Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans–II (ARSMA-II) Scale-1 acculturation typologies (separation, assimilation, integration, and marginalization) to form separate groups showed more sensitive differentiation with the Cuéllar et al. three-subscale structure (Anglo Marginalization, Mexican Marginalization, and Mexican American Marginalization) than the Gutierrez et al. two-subscale structure (Dominant Culture Marginality and Native Culture Marginality). Implications for future research were discussed.

Measuring Acculturation With the ARSMA-II

The current literature review highlights the need for a two-dimensional rating system for Mexican American acculturation. It demonstrates increased attention to acculturation issues over time despite ongoing lack of the two-dimensional acculturation analysis. Although creators of the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans–II (ARSMA-II) originally stated that the measure’s Mexican Orientation and Anglo Orientation subscales were orthogonal, they combined the two into a unidimensional acculturation score. A review of usage of the ARSMA-II from 1995 to 2013 revealed that 56% of studies collapsed the two subscales into a single acculturation score. Additional analysis revealed an increase in studies using the ARSMA-II across time, while showing that there was neither a difference in the usage of unidimensional and bidimensional scoring methods nor a shift in choosing scoring methods across time. We recommend that future studies use both the Mexican Orientation and the Anglo Orientation subscales to increase the accuracy of their acculturation research.

Effects of acculturation on a culturally adapted diabetes intervention for Latinas.

To inform the refinement of a culturally adapted diabetes intervention, we evaluated acculturation's association with variables at several sequential steps: baseline measures of diet and physical activity, intervention engagement, putative mediators (problem solving and social resources), and outcomes (fat consumption and physical activity). Latina women (N = 280) recruited from health organizations were randomly assigned to a culturally adapted lifestyle intervention (¡Viva Bien!) or usual care. A brief version of the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) acculturation scales (Anglo and Latina orientations) was administered at baseline. Assessments at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months included social supportive resources for diet and exercise, problem solving, saturated fat consumption, and physical activity. Latina orientation was negatively related to saturated fat intake and physical activity at baseline. Latina orientation also was positively related to session attendance during Months 6-12 of the intervention. Independent of 6-month intervention effects, Anglo orientation was significantly positively related to improvements in problem solving and dietary supportive resources. Anglo orientation related negatively to improved physical activity at 6 and 12 months. There were no Acculturation × Intervention interactions on putative mediators or outcomes. The cultural adaptation process was successful in creating an engaging and effective intervention for Latinas at all levels of acculturation. However, independent of intervention effects, acculturation was related to putative mediating variables (problem solving and social resources) and an outcome variable (physical activity), an indication of acculturation's general influence on lifestyle and coping factors.

The Reliability and Validity of the Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II for Children and Adolescents

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) using two samples of Mexican American children: 292 middle school students from a mid-sized culturally diverse southwestern city, and 116 third-through fifth graders in culturally homogeneous rural elementary schools. Results provided evidence of the reliability and validity of this measure of acculturation for both age levels. Factor analysis supported the two-scale structure reported by Cuéllar. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was adequate for both samples. Validity was demonstrated by the significant association between the distribution of acculturation status and sample group. Language of form (English or Spanish) selected by the student was correlated with acculturation status.

Effects of Latino Acculturation and Ethnic Identity on Mental Health Outcomes

The relationships among client-therapist ethnic match, client age group, client acculturation, ethnic identity, and generation level and their effect on client global assessment of function (GAF), total mental health visits, and costs were examined with a sample of 204 Latino adult and child community mental health clients. Acculturation was measured using the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II), and the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) served as the measure ofethnic identity. The adjusted findings indicated that GAF outcomes declined for Anglo-oriented Latino clients who reported low ethnic identity. These results are discussed in light ofa Multicultural Assessment Intervention Process Model (MAIP) that helps guide service delivery to community mental health consumers.

Use of Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-IT with Substance Abuse Patients

The Acculturation Rating ScaleforMexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) was administered to 105 adult male MexicanAmerican substance abuse patients. The subscales werefound to have good internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .87 and .82 for the Mexican Orientation scale [MOS] and the Anglo Orientation scale [AOS], respectively). A Pearson correlation of .69 was obtained between the ARSMA-II acculturation score and Mendoza 's Cultural Lifestyle Inventory cultural shift. A Pearson product moment correlation of .20 (p < .05) was obtained between the ARSMA-II AOS score and the Cultural Identification scale (CIS) Anglo-American identification score. The correlation between the ARSMA-II MOS score and the CIS Mexican American identification score was not significant. Adjustment of cutting scores to determine acculturation levels and modes may be appropriate when the scale is used with a research sample differing from the normative sample on important variables.

Relations of Depression, Acculturation, and Socioeconomic Status in a Latino Sample

This study investigated the relations among depression, acculturation, and socioeconomic status (SES) in a young-adult Latino sample. Data were obtained from 1,271 Latino first-year college students; 89% self-labeled as either Mexican American or Hispanic, and 11% as Mexican National. Symptoms of depression were compared for various acculturation levels, and bicultural groups with controls for SES and gender. The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) was used to assess acculturation characteristics. Clinical depression and symptoms of depression were measured using the DSD26 Symptom Scale for assessment of depressive symptoms and major depression. Variance in depression scores was found to be influenced more by gender and SES than by acculturation or ethnic identity status. Assimilated Mexican Americans reported significantly fewer symptoms of depression than their more traditional counterparts. Ethnicity and acculturation per se were not found to lessen or increase riskfordepression, but SES associated with ethnicity wasfound to directly affect depression scores.

Cognitive referents of acculturation: Assessment of cultural constructs in Mexican Americans

The relations among behavioral measures of acculturation and five cultural constructs were explored in a sample of 379 persons varying across five generation levels. The sample was mostly (89%) of Mexican origin. The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) was used as the measure of acculturation. The development of five scales measuring the cultural constructs of Familism, Fatalism, Machismo, Personalismo, and Folk Beliefs is reported. Significant relations were found among four of the five constructs with generational status and acculturation. The findings support Acculturation Theory, which postulates that psychological acculturation takes place at least along cognitive and behavioral domains. The findings demonstrate that cultural attitudes, ideas, beliefs, and values associated with the acculturation processes can be reliably measured and that these processes have empirical construct validity. Familism, Fatalism, Machismo, and Folk Beliefs were found to be negatively correlated with acculturation (Pearson's r = −.23, p <.001) for Familism; r = −.19, p <.05 for Fatalism; r = −.24, p <.001 for Machismo; r = −.32, p <.001 for Folk Beliefs. The findings are discussed with regard to understanding cultural differences within the Mexican-American population, and the role that such factors may have in the experience of illness, help-seeking behaviors, and in the provision of culturally competent mental health services.