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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #312749
Title: Adapting a measure of acculturation for Chinese-American children aged 9-13 years

Author
item DIEP, CASSANDRA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item Thompson, Deborah - Debbe
item GOR, BEVERLY - Baylor College Of Medicine
item BARANOWSKI, TOM - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Acculturation among those of Chinese descent may be related to changes in health behaviors and disease risks. Research with Chinese children to understand their acculturative processes early in life is important; however, there is no known instrument to measure acculturation for this population. This study was conducted to adapt a widely-used acculturation scale, the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (SL-ASIA), for Chinese-American children. We conducted two rounds of cognitive interviews with Chinese-American children aged 10-13 years (n=4 and 5, respectively). Children read through directions, items, and responses, and provided feedback. After each round, the SL-ASIA was revised. All participants were of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, the mean age was 11 years, and 77.8% were male. Identified problems included words that children did not understand (e.g., "Anglo"), responses that were not mutually exclusive or collectively exhaustive (e.g., no option for not liking any music), and confusing phrasing (e.g., changing "identify" to "describe"). One item related to associations within the community was deleted. Adapting the SL-ASIA for Chinese-American children is important for conducting research with this population. Feedback from participants revealed several challenges with interpreting the original scale. Further research is underway to validate the adapted SL-ASIA among Chinese-American children.