Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II)

Abstract

The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II), developed by Cuellar, Arnold, and Maldonado in 1995, is a widely utilized psychometric instrument designed to assess the complex process of acculturation among individuals of Mexican descent residing in the United States. It represents a significant revision and expansion of the original ARSMA scale, moving beyond a simple linear model to capture both cultural maintenance and assimilation.

The ARSMA-II provides a nuanced, multidimensional measurement of cultural adaptation. It is structured around two primary components: an Acculturation Scale, which measures orientation toward both Mexican and Anglo cultures, and a Marginality Scale, which explores feelings of cultural separation and difficulty accepting norms from different ethnic groups. This instrument allows researchers and clinicians to quantify an individual’s position across various dimensions of cultural identity and interaction.

Keywords

Acculturation, Mexican Americans, Cultural Adaptation, Ethnic Identity, Marginality Scale, Anglo Orientation, Mexican Orientation, Psychometrics, Assimilation.

Authors

Israel Cuellar, Billie Arnold, Rebecca Maldonado.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the ARSMA-II is to provide a reliable and valid measure of acculturation status specifically tailored for the Mexican American population. It aims to quantify the degree to which an individual has adopted the values, behaviors, language, and customs of the dominant Anglo culture (assimilation) while simultaneously assessing the retention of their native Mexican culture (enculturation).

The ARSMA-II utilizes a bidimensional framework, which is crucial for distinguishing between different cultural adaptation strategies. This structure allows for the measurement of four distinct acculturative statuses: assimilation, separation, integration (biculturalism), and marginality. The detailed subscales enable researchers to pinpoint specific areas—such as language preference or social interaction—where acculturation is most pronounced.

Construct

The ARSMA-II measures the psychological construct of acculturation, defined as the process of cultural and psychological change that results from continuous, first-hand contact between two distinct cultural groups. The scale operationalizes this construct through two distinct components.

The first component is the 30-item **Acculturation Scale**, which assesses cultural orientation and yields scores on two orthogonal dimensions: the **Mexican Orientation Subscale (MOS)** and the **Anglo Orientation Subscale (AOS)**. The items within this scale cover four broad domains: (a) Language use and preference, (b) Ethnic identity and classification, (c) Cultural heritage and ethnic behaviors, and (d) Ethnic interaction.

The second component is the 18-item **Marginality Scale**. This scale measures feelings of cultural estrangement or difficulty in accepting the ideas, attitudes, behaviors, and values of either the Mexican, Anglo, or Mexican American groups. It is subdivided into three subscales: Anglo Marginality, Mexican Marginality, and Mexican American Marginality, quantifying the degree of perceived separation or rejection from each specific cultural group.

Validity

The ARSMA-II was developed as a revision to enhance the structural and construct validity of the original ARSMA scale by adopting a bidimensional model of acculturation, which aligns better with modern theoretical understanding of cultural adaptation than traditional linear models.

The scale’s factor analysis findings strongly support the theoretical separation of Anglo orientation and Mexican orientation, confirming the scale’s fundamental structural validity. This bidimensional structure allows for a more accurate assessment of biculturalism. Furthermore, the inclusion of the Marginality Scale adds depth, improving criterion validity by allowing for the differentiation of individuals who feel culturally separated from both their heritage and host cultures.

Reliability

The ARSMA-II demonstrates strong reliability, evidenced by robust Coefficient Alpha values for internal consistency and high 1-week test–retest correlation coefficients for stability across the primary scales and subscales.

Key reliability findings reported by Cuellar, Arnold, & Maldonado (1995) include:

• Anglo Orientation Subscale (AOS): Internal consistency (Alpha) = 0.83; Test-retest reliability = 0.94.
• Mexican Orientation Subscale (MOS): Internal consistency (Alpha) = 0.88; Test-retest reliability = 0.96.
• Total Marginality Scale: Internal consistency (Alpha) = 0.87; Test-retest reliability = 0.78.

Reliability statistics for the specific Marginality subscales also demonstrate strong stability:

• Anglo Marginality Subscale (ANGMAR): Alpha = 0.90; Test-retest reliability = 0.72.
• Mexican Marginality Subscale (MEXMAR): Alpha = 0.68; Test-retest reliability = 0.80.
• Mexican American Marginality Subscale (MAMARG): Alpha = 0.91; Test-retest reliability = 0.81.

Factor Analysis

The ARSMA-II is empirically structured around two primary, theoretically distinct scales. Scale 1, the Acculturation Scale (30 items), utilizes factor analysis to isolate two independent factors: the **Anglo Orientation Subscale (AOS)** and the **Mexican Orientation Subscale (MOS)**. The independence of these two factors confirms the scale’s adherence to a bidimensional model, meaning that high orientation towards one culture does not necessarily imply low orientation towards the other.

Scale 2, the Marginality Scale (18 items), is designed to measure difficulty in accepting various cultural groups. Factor analysis confirmed the division into three distinct subscales: **Anglo Marginality (ANGMAR; items 1–6)**, **Mexican Marginality (MEXMAR; items 7–12)**, and **Mexican American Marginality (MAMARG; items 13–18)**. This structure allows for precise assessment of cultural resistance or perceived separation from specific groups within the individual’s environment.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Psychometric Scale

Format: The ARSMA-II consists of 48 items across two scales. Scale 1 (Acculturation) uses a 5-point Likert scale response format, where 1 = Not at all; 2 = Very little or not very often; 3 = Moderately; 4 = Much or very often; and 5 = Extremely often or almost always.

Language Available: Primarily English (often translated into Spanish for research settings).

Population Group: Individuals of Mexican origin, specifically Mexican Americans.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults. A Brief ARSMA-II for Children also exists, utilizing a subset of the Scale 1 items marked with (B).

Population Details: Specifically designed for individuals residing in the United States who are experiencing cultural contact and adaptation pressures between Mexican and Anglo cultures.

Test Methodology: The scale is administered as a written or verbal questionnaire. Scores are calculated for the AOS and MOS (Scale 1) to determine the degree of orientation toward each culture, and for the three Marginality subscales (Scale 2) to assess cultural difficulty and resistance. The response categories for Scale 1 also correspond to concepts such as Cultural Resistance (a or b response), Cultural Shift (c or d response), and Cultural Incorporation (e response).

Keywords

Mexican American, ARSMA-II, Cultural Resistance, Enculturation, Assimilation, Biculturalism, Marginality, Cuellar, Ethnic Interaction.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Information not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Information not provided in source.

Correspondence Address: Information not provided in source.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was formally published in 1995. Information regarding current usage permissions and associated fees must be sought through the original authors (Cuellar, Arnold, & Maldonado) or the journal/publisher. The instrument is referenced in the academic text Measuring Race and Ethnicity (Davis LE and Engel RJ, 2011), available via Springer at: http://www.springer.com/978-1-4419-6696-4.

Reference’s

The following academic references are associated with the development, validation, and application of the ARSMA-II:

1. Cuellar, I., Arnold, B., & Maldonado, R. (1995). Acculturation rating scale for Mexican Americans-II: A revision of the original ARSMA scale. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 17, 275–304.
2. Lee, R. M., Yoon, E., & Liu-Tom, H.-T. T. (2006). Structure and measurement of acculturation/enculturation for Asian Americans using the ARSMA-II. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 39, 42–55.
3. Davis LE and Engel RJ. Measuring Race and Ethnicity. New York, NY: Springer 2011.

Items of the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II)

Scale 1 (Acculturation Scale)

1. I speak Spanish (B)
2. I speak English (B)
3. I enjoy speaking Spanish (B)
4. I associate with Anglos (B)
5. I associate with Mexicans and/or Mexican Americans
6. I enjoy listening to Spanish language music
7. I enjoy listening to English language music
8. I enjoy Spanish language on TV (B)
9. I enjoy English language on TV
10. I enjoy English language movies (B)
11. I enjoy Spanish language movies (B)
12. I enjoy reading (e.g.‚ books in Spanish) (B)
13. I enjoy reading (e.g.‚ books in English)
14. I write letters in Spanish
15. I write letters in English (B)
16. My thinking is done in the English language (B)
17. My thinking is done in the Spanish language (B)
18. My contact with Mexico has been
19. My contact with the USA has been
20. My father identifies or identified himself as ‘Mexicano’
21. My mother identifies or identified herself as ‘Mexicana’
22. My friends‚ while I was growing up‚ were of Mexican origin
23. My friends‚ while I was growing up‚ were of Anglo origin
24. My family cooks Mexican foods
25. My friends now are of Anglo origin (B)
26. My friends now are of Mexican origin
27. I like to identify myself as an Anglo American
28. I like to identify myself as a Mexican American
29. I like to identify myself as a Mexican
30. I like to identify myself as an American

(B) indicates used in Brief ARSMA-II for Children.

Scale 2 (Marginality Scale)

1. I have difficulty accepting some ideas held by Anglos
2. I have difficulty accepting some attitudes held by Anglos
3. I have difficulty accepting some behaviors exhibited by Anglos
4. I have difficulty accepting some values held by some Anglos
5. I have difficulty accepting certain practices and customs found in some Anglos
6. I have‚ or think I would have‚ difficulty accepting Anglos as close personal friends
7. I have difficulty accepting ideas held by some Mexicans
8. I have difficulty accepting certain attitudes held by Mexicans
9. I have difficulty accepting some behaviors exhibited by Mexicans
10. I have difficulty accepting some values held by some Mexicans
11. I have difficulty accepting certain practices and customs found in some Mexicans
12. I have‚ or think I would have difficulty accepting Mexicans as close personal friends
13. I have difficulty accepting ideas held by Mexican Americans
14. I have difficulty accepting certain attitudes held by Mexican Americans
15. I have difficulty accepting some behaviors exhibited by Mexican Americans
16. I have difficulty accepting some values help by Mexican Americans
17. I have difficulty accepting certain practices and customs commonly found in Mexican Americans
18. I have‚ or think I would have difficulty accepting Mexican Americans as close personal friends