Method SAMPLE AND PROCEDURES Respondents were recruited for participation in
the same manner as in Study 1. A total of 107 Puerto Ricans participated in this
study, including 39 males and 64 females (4 respondents did not state their
gender). Respondents' ages ranged from 12 to 58 years (M = 27.9 years). Of the
respondents, 85 were born in Puerto Rico and 21 were born on the U.S. mainland.
Respondents' percentage of lifetime spent in the United States ranged from 77%
to 100% (M = 92%). MEASURES The measures used in Study 2 were equivalent to
those employed in the first study. However, in this study, respondents were
asked to respond only to one questionnaire in the language of their choice
(i.e., either the Spanish version or the English version). Cultural behaviors
and preferences. Items pertaining to cultural behaviors and preferences were
adapted from traditional acculturation scales and included in each version of
the questionnaire for validation purposes. Individual items concerning language
use (both reading and speaking), cultural foods, music, holiday celebrations,
and family celebrations were inspired by items on the Marin et al. (1987) and
Szapocznik et al. (1978) scales. Parallel items were included to address actual
cultural behaviors (e.g., How do you celebrate family events?) and individuals'
preferences for cultural behaviors (e.g., How do you prefer to celebrate family
events?), yielding a total of 12 items added to each questionnaire.
Complementing the response format for the PAS items, these items were scored on
a 9-point scale, ranging from 1 (only Spanish) to 9 (only English). Items
pertaining to language reading and speaking were combined to create composite
measures of language use (behavior items) and preferred language use (preference
items); alpha coefficients of reliability were .90 for scores on the language
use measure and .80 for scores on the preferred language use measure. Scores on
the remaining behavior and preference items yielded low estimates of internal
consistency and were examined individually in data analysis.
Results INTERNAL CONSISTENCY Overall, the mean PAS score for this sample was
3.48 on the 9-point scale (SD = 1.38). Of the respondents, 64 chose to complete
the Spanish version of the PAS and 42 chose the English version. Item scores on
both language versions of the PAS were shown to be internally consistent, with
alpha coefficients of .90 and .83 for the Spanish and English versions,
respectively. Item total correlations from this sample ranged from between .55
and .81 for the Spanish version of the PAS and from between .36 and .67 for the
English version. Because scores from this sample yielded high levels of internal
consistency on both language versions of the PAS, responses to the Spanish and
English versions of the scale were pooled for further data analysis. FACTOR
ANALYSIS A principal components analysis yielded a single primary factor of
psychological acculturation, which accounted for 51% of the variance. No
additional factors were extracted beyond this factor because all other factors'
eigenvalues were below 1.0. Structure coefficients on this factor ranged from
between .64 and .79 (see Table 2). CONVERGENT AND DISCRIMINANT VALIDITY
Migration history. Respondents born in Puerto Rico tended to have lower PAS
scores (M = 3.3) than did respondents born on the U.S. mainland, M = 4.2, t(103)
= -2.93,p * .01. Thus, individuals born in Puerto Rico tended to be more
Latino-oriented than bicultural. Furthermore, psychological acculturation (as
measured by the PAS) was correlated positively with percentage of lifetime in
the United States, r(103) = .43, p * .01, such that greater time on the U.S.
mainland corresponded with a more Anglo/American orientation. Language use.
Respondents who chose to complete the questionnaire in Spanish tended to have
lower scores on the PAS (M = 3.1) than did respondents who completed the
questionnaire in English, M = 4.1, t(104) = -4.22, p * .001.
That is, respondents who chose the Spanish version tended to be more
Latino-oriented than were those who chose the English version. Psychological
acculturation also correlated positively with use of English at home during the
respondent's childhood, r(106) = .51, p * .01, indicating a greater
Anglo/American orientation with increased use of English in the home. COMPARING
MEASURES OF MIGRATION AND ACCULTURATION Individuals' migration histories
traditionally have been used as validation measures for acculturation scales.
Although these measures may be useful, it is also important to acknowledge a
qualitative difference between time spent in a culture and one's sense of
belonging and attachment to that culture. Multiple regression analyses were
conducted to address this distinction using psychological acculturation (i.e.,
respondents' PAS scores) and percentage of lifetime in the United States as
predictors of the adapted cultural behavior and preference items. A separate
correlational analysis indicated that the two predictor variables bore a
substantial positive correlation, r(103) = .43, p * .01. Under such conditions,
the standardized regression coefficients that are obtained from standard
regression analyses may be biased and relatively unreliable, as compared to
other indicators (Darlington, 1990). To promote the accurate interpretation of
our findings, semipartial correlations and structure coefficients instead will
be reported.
