PSYCHOMETRICS OF A BRIEF ACCULTURATION SCALE FOR HISPANICS IN A PROBABILITY SAMPLE OF URBAN HISPANIC ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG-ADULTS

This article presents data in support of the reliability and validity of a four-item measure of acculturation for Hispanics. The study has t hree strengths. First, this brief measure is evaluated with a probabil ity sample of Hispanic adolescents and young adults (ages 15-24 years) living in urban low-income households. Second the sample contains bot h second- and third-generation Puerto Rican and Mexican American adole scents and young adults. Third, the acculturation measure was administ ered as part of a face-to-face interview. The four-item acculturation scale correlated highly with generation length of time in the United S tates, subjective evaluation of acculturation, country of birth, and l anguage chosen for the interview. The psychometric properties of this brief scale are comparable to those obtained for other published scale s. Results support the use of this four-item measure of acculturation ar a simple, inexpensive measure that involves minimal respondent burd en.