Validating the Riverside Acculturation Stress Inventory With Asian Americans

• Published in: Psychological assessment 2011-06, Vol.23 (2), p.300-310
• Main Authors: Miller, Matthew J, Kim, Jungeun, Benet-Martínez, Verónica
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acculturation; Adult; Asian Americans; Asian Americans - psychology; Asians; Biological and medical sciences; Cultural Isolation; Culture; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Generational Differences; Human; Humans; Intercultural Communication; Inventories; Language; Language Skills; Male; Measures (Individuals); Personality. Affectivity; Psychological Tests - standards; Psychological Tests - statistics & numerical data; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychometrics; Quantitative psychology; Racial Bias; Reliability; Reproducibility of Results; Scores; Social Identification; Stress; Stress Variables; Stress, Psychological - diagnosis; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Studies; Test Reliability; Test Validity; United States; Validity
• ISSN: 1040-3590; 1939-134X
• DOI: 10.1037/a0021589

An emerging body of empirical research highlights the impact of acculturative stress in the lives of culturally diverse populations. Therefore, to facilitate future research in this area, we conducted 3 studies to examine the psychometric properties of the Riverside Acculturation Stress Inventory (RASI; Benet-Martínez & Haritatos, 2005) and its 5 subscales in a total sample of 793 self-identified Asian American participants. The reliability and validity of RASI scores and the hypothesized 1-factor higher order model (with 1st-order factors Language Skills, Work Challenges, Intercultural Relations, Discrimination, and Cultural Isolation) of the RASI were examined in Study 1. The RASI higher order structure and score validity and reliability were examined across different generational groups in Study 2. The stability of RASI scores over a 3-week period was examined in Study 3. Overall, findings from these studies support the hypothesized structure of the RASI and indicate that this brief instrument provides reliable and valid acculturative stress scores. In addition, results suggest that RASI items are interpreted in an equivalent manner across different generations of Asian American individuals. Implications for research and assessment are discussed.