MEASURING ACCULTURATION IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT: THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN ACCULTURATION SCALE

Abstract

Acculturation is often cited in South African research as an explanation for various phenomena. Researchers often cite the examination of acculturation as a recommendation for further research. To date there has been very little research in the South African context that empirically examines acculturation. This study explored the internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the South African Acculturation Scale (SAAS) in a nonprobability, convenience sample of 392 individuals in Johannesburg. The SAAS is a 22 item scale that has a Likert-type response format ranging from ‘Strongly Agree’ (5) to ‘Strongly Disagree’ (1). From the results it was evident that some of the items on the SAAS were problematic and needed to be removed to ensure that the scale was psychometrically sound. The revised SAAS yielded better reliability coefficients for this sample.