Cultural identity and its measurement: a questionnaire for Asians

Cultural identity is an integral part of an individual's self and it may af fect social and individual functioning of individuals leading to mental dis tress. The present paper describes the key concepts of cultural identity su ch as religion, attitudes to the family, leisure activities, rites of passa ges, food and language. The concept of acculturation is vital to the concep t of the self and thus the development of the self and degree of comfort in living within other cultures becomes important. The measurement of accultu ration and cultural identity is often a difficult one. In this paper variou s measurements illustrate rite need of having a multifaceted instrument in measuring cultural identity among Asians (those having connections with the Indian subcontinent).