Acculturative Processes and Their Impact on Self-Reports of Psychological Distress in Mexican-American Adolescents Page: 9
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assessments of acculturation have been sought which include cognitions and specific
patterns of behavior, in order to more fully assess specific and key variables related to
the acculturative process of ethnic minorities.
An example of such a conceptualization of acculturation is that which led to the
development of the original version of the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican
Americans (ARSMA) ( Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, www.sagepub.com)
developed by Israel Cuellar and his colleagues (Cuellar, Harris, & Jasso 1980). This
model, while taking into consideration ethnic specific cognitions, behaviors, and
preferences, assumes that as a person acculturates, their orientation toward the
majority culture increases while there is a corresponding decrease in their orientation
toward their culture of origin. While providing a framework for more adequately
understanding the complexities of acculturation, the ARSMA has some significant
shortcomings, namely its reliance on a linear model of acculturation. A major weakness
of the linear model is that it does not allow for a measure of bicultural orientation. This
absence can lead to the faulty assumption that there must be a corresponding reduction
in one of two cultural orientations for acculturation to take place (Cuellar et al., 1997;
Getting & Beauvais, 1991). More specifically, the linear model assumes that as an
individual or group acculturates to a majority cultural orientation they experience a
corresponding decrease in their orientation (e.g., cultural specific cognitions, behaviors,
and preferences) to their culture of origin. While this outcome of acculturation is
supported by research as one of many possible outcomes (e.g., Assimilation, see Berry
& Kim, 1988), it does not allow for other possible acculturative pathways, such as
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Garrison, Lance A. Acculturative Processes and Their Impact on Self-Reports of Psychological Distress in Mexican-American Adolescents, dissertation, May 2003; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4217/m1/17/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .