Issues in the Conceptualization and Assessment of Acculturation

The chapter discusses conceptual and assessment issues in acculturation research in an attempt to integrate the growing literature in this field. We start with an overview of its historical roots and present a framework of acculturation variables, distinguishing acculturation conditions, orientations, and outcomes. Frequently observed sources of problems in the assessment of acculturation are outlined, such as mixing different variables into an overall score and using proxy and single-index measures. It is argued that the main unresolved issues in the conceptualization and assessment of acculturation are domain specificity, identifying common and groupspecific aspects, a further delineation of the meaning of integration, and testing attitude-behavior relations. An application domain of acculturation assessment, the immigrant family, is then discussed. Examining acculturation in the family domain can give more insight into the dynamic and multifaceted nature of acculturation. We conclude that an essential step, in order to advance acculturation research, is the development of a standardized acculturation instrument or at least a widely endorsed view on what should be included in such a measure. The use of the independent measurement of acculturation orientations (two-statement method) in a range of different domains and situations is a useful tool to achieve this goal. Conceptualization and Assessment 3