Open AccessDevelopment and Validation of the Bicultural Youth Acculturation Questionnaire
Author(s) -
Atif Kukaswadia,
Ian Janssen,
William Pickett,
Jasmine Bajwa,
Katholiki Georgiades,
Richard N. Lalonde,
Elizabeth C. Quon,
Saba Safdar,
Ian Pike
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0161048
Subject(s) - acculturation , cronbach's alpha , exploratory factor analysis , ethnic group , delphi method , convergent validity , construct validity , population , immigration , psychology , clinical psychology , medicine , gerontology , demography , psychometrics , internal consistency , geography , sociology , environmental health , statistics , archaeology , anthropology , mathematics
Objectives Acculturation is a multidimensional process involving changes in behaviour and beliefs. Questionnaires developed to measure acculturation are typically designed for specific ethnic populations and adult experiences. This study developed a questionnaire that measures acculturation among ethnically diverse populations of youth that can be included as a module in population surveys. Methods Questionnaires measuring acculturation in youth were identified in the literature. The importance of items from the existing questionnaires was determined using a Delphi process and this informed the development of our questionnaire. The questionnaire was then pilot tested using a sample of 248 Canadians aged 18–25 via an online system. Participants identified as East and South East Asian (27.8%), South Asian (17.7%) and Black (13.7%). The majority were 1 st (33.5%) or 2 nd generation immigrants (52.0%). After redundant items were eliminated, exploratory factor analysis grouped items into domains, and, for each domain, internal consistency, and convergent validity with immigrant generation then age at immigration estimated. A subset of participants re-completed the questionnaire for reliability estimation. Results The literature review yielded 117 articles that used 13 questionnaires with a total of 440 questions. The Delphi process reduced these to 32 questions. Pilot testing occurred in 248 Canadians aged 18–25. Following item reduction, 16 questions in three domains remained: dominant culture, heritage language, and heritage culture. All had good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas > .75). The mean dominant domain score increased with immigrant generation (1 st generation: 3.69 (95% CI: 3.49–3.89), 2 nd : 4.13 (4.00–4.26), 3 rd : 4.40 (4.19–4.61)), and mean heritage language score was higher among those who immigrated after age 12 than before (p = .0001), indicative of convergent validity. Conclusions This Bicultural Youth Acculturation Questionnaire has demonstrated validity. It can be incorporated into population health surveys to elucidate the impact of acculturation on health outcomes among bicultural youth.