Acculturation Index (AI)
Ward and Kennedy's (1994 )‚ Ward & Rana-Deuba‚ (1999)
Not at all similar 1----------2----------3----------4----------5----------6----------7 very similar
1. Clothing
2. Pace of life
3. General knowledge
4. Food
5. Religious beliefs
6. Material comfort (standard of living)
7. Recreational activities
8. Self-identity
9. Family life
10. Accommodation/residence
11. Values
12. Friendships
13. Communication styles
14. Cultural activities
15. Language
16. Perceptions of co-nationals
17. Perceptions of host nationals
18. Political ideology
19. World view
20. Social customs
21. Employment activities
Assess two independent dimensions of acculturation (co-national identification and host national identification) and four modes of acculturation (separation‚ integration‚ assimilation‚ and marginalization)
This instrument can be found online at: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/cacr/about-us/people/staff/colleen-ward/Scale-Acculturation-Index.pdf
Acculturation Index (AI)
Adoption by Wei-Hsuan Wang 2009
1. Dressing style
• I maintain a dressing style of my own culture.
• My dressing style is somewhat Americanized.
2. Food
• I maintain an eating style of my own culture.
• My eating style is somewhat Americanized.
3. Living community (e.g.‚ Apartment complex)
• I live in a community where there are a lot of people of my own cultural background. .
• I live in a community where residents are mainly Americans.
4. Roommate choice (If you have/had a roommate)
• I choose to live with someone from my own culture.
• I choose to live with someone who is an English speaker or someone I can practice English.
5. Recreational activities
• I maintain recreational activities of my own culture.
• My recreational activities are somewhat Americanized.
6. Friendship network
• I maintain a good friendship network with people from my own culture.
• I have many American friends or friends from different cultural background.
7. Pace of life
• I maintain a pace of life which is similar to peers in my home country.
• My pace of life is similar to my American peers.
8. Reading
• I spend a lot of time reading in my own language (e.g.‚ online readings‚ emails‚ novels).
• I spend a lot of time reading in English (e.g.‚ academic papers‚ textbooks).
9. Writing
I spend a lot of time writing in my own language (e.g.‚ emails‚ journaling).
I spend a lot of time writing in English. .
10. Speaking
• I spend a lot of time speaking in my own language.
• I spend a lot of time speaking in English.
11. Listening
• I spend a lot of time listening to my own language.
• I spend a lot of time listening to English.
12. Overall language usage
• I spend a lot of time using my own language.
• I make efforts to increase my opportunities to use English.
13. Communication style
• My communication style is similar to people from my own culture.
• My communication style is similar to American style (e.g.‚ more direct)
14. Religious beliefs (if you have any)
• My religious belief is similar to that of people from my own culture.
• My religious belief is similar to that of most Americans.
15. Church attendance (if you are attending a church)
• I choose to attend a church of my own culture (e.g.‚ Chinese church/Korean church).
• I choose to attend an American church.
16. Values
• I maintain values of my own culture.
• My values are somewhat Americanized.
17. Social activities
• I like to attend social activities held by my cultural group.
• I like to attend social activities held by American or international groups.
This instrument can be found online at: https://www.lib.utexas.edu/etd/d/2009/wangw58087/wangw58087.pdf
1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = Neutral; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree
Ward‚ C.‚ & Kennedy‚ A. (1994). Acculturation strategies‚ psychological adjustment‚ and sociocultural competence during cross-cultural transitions. International Journal of Intercultural Relations‚ 18(3)‚ 329-343.
Ward‚ C. (1999). Models and measurement of acculturation. In W. I. Lonner‚ D.L. Dinner‚ D.K. Forgays‚ and H. A. Hayes (Eds.)‚ Merging past‚ present‚ and future in cross-cultural psychology (pp. 221-230). Netherlands: Swets and Zeitlinger Publishers.
Ward‚ C.‚ & Rana-Deuba‚ R. (1999). Acculturation and adaptation revisited. Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology. 30‚ 422-442.
Wang‚ Wei-hsuan. (2009). Chinese international students' cross-cultural adjustment in the U.S.: the roles of acculturation strategies‚ self-construals‚ perceived cultural distance‚ and English self-confidence. University of Texas at Austin. PhD Dissertation.