| To appropriately serve the culturally different in the counseling field, it requires that the counselor assess the acculturation condition of the client. According to the U.S. census, the Chinese represent the largest Asian group in the United States. The research on Chinese-Americans indicates a number of difficulties related to their acculturation in the United States. It is important to assess the level of acculturation for counseling and educational purposes with Chinese Americans. The acculturation scales for Asian Americans found in the literature did not distinguish among ethnic groups. These scales were written in English, thereby eliminating the assessment of non-English speaking individuals. The Chinese American acculturation scale needs to be developed.; The purpose of this study was to develop a specific acculturation scale for Chinese-Americans available in Chinese and English. Sixty-one initial items were developed through extensive studies of both Chinese culture and American culture. The initial 61 items were administered to 692 participants that have a Chinese background in the U.S. Factor analyses resulted in a 3-factor instrument. The finalized instrument consists of 51 items. It was administered to 59 Chinese Americans to further study instrument test-retest reliability and validity. The Chinese Americans Acculturation Scale developed in this study was found to yield significant internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and validity. |
