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Psychometric evaluation of the Demands of Immigration Scale with Taiwanese–Chinese immigrants: a pilot study
Author(s) -
Tsai Jenny HsinChun
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of advanced nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.948
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1365-2648
pISSN - 0309-2402
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2000.02274.x
Subject(s) - immigration , scale (ratio) , distress , psychology , psychometrics , construct validity , content validity , reliability (semiconductor) , ethnic group , clinical psychology , social psychology , geography , power (physics) , physics , cartography , archaeology , quantum mechanics , sociology , anthropology
Background. Each year thousands of people move across national borders and become immigrants of another country. They face several demands and sources of distress during resettlement. The Demands of Immigration (DI) Scale developed by Aroianet al . (1998), is the only instrument available to nurses (and other clinicians and researchers) to measure immigration‐specific distresses. This scale, however, is written in English and has only been tested with former Soviet immigrants in the Boston area of United States of America (USA) for psychometrics. Aim. This instrumentation pilot study is designed to evaluate the readability and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the DI Scale. Instrument. This selected scale is a 23‐item, 6‐point Liket type scale. Six dimensions are included: loss, novelty, occupation adjustment, language accommodation, discriminations, and not feeling at home. High scores indicate high levels of distress related to the demands of immigration. Methods. The study uses a descriptive, cross‐sectional design with a multimethod approach. Seventy‐three Taiwanese–Chinese immigrants (≥18 years) in the USA responded to the scale and a demographic questionnaire. Eighteen of them contributed to the interview data that were collected for assessing content validity of the scale. Observations during the interviews and participants' questions were also documented for the evaluation. Scale format, wording of items, distribution of responses, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, content validity, and construct validity are examined. Findings and conclusion. Analyses suggest that the Chinese version is easy to read and understand. The internal consistency and test–retest reliability are satisfactory. This scale could be used with Taiwanese–Chinese immigrants as a generic measure of immigration‐related distress. Nonetheless, three main problems with its use with Taiwanese–Chinese immigrants and Chinese immigrants at large are revealed in the study. Each problem is discussed. Suggestions for further development of the Chinese DI Scale are addressed.