Scale Overview
The Acculturation, Habits, and Interests Multicultural Scale for Adolescents – AHIMSA was developed by Jennifer B. Unger, Paula Gallaher, Sohaila Shakib, Annalyn Ritt-Olson, Philip H. Palmer, & C. Anderson Johnson (2002). It is designed to measure Acculturation. The scale is intended for use with Adolescents.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 8 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = The United States, 2 = The country my family is from, 3 = Both, 4 = Other/Neither.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 8. Interpretation guidelines:
- Score represents the sum of responses for each category (Assimilation, Separation, Integration, Marginalization): 0 – 8
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.84.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.