Description

The Awareness of Connectedness (ACS) Scale is a culturally grounded measure designed to assess awareness of connectedness—a protective factor identified as central to Indigenous conceptions of wellness. The original 12-item ACS (Mohatt et al., 2011) measures an individual’s awareness of their interrelatedness with family, community, and the natural environment, capturing spiritual, social, and ecological dimensions of connectedness. Respondents indicate how much they agree with statements such as “I am aware that my life is connected to all of nature,” using response options ranging from Not at all to A lot.

An adapted version, the Yuuyaraq/Way of the Human Being: Awareness of Connectedness measure, was developed for Yup’ik Alaska Native youth as part of the Qungasvik (Tools for Life) suicide prevention program. This 11-item version was adapted using community-based participatory methods with Yup’ik elders, leaders, and youth to ensure cultural and linguistic equivalence. Items were rewritten for clarity and age appropriateness and analyzed using item response theory (IRT) to improve measurement precision. Both the original and adapted forms assess awareness of how an individual’s wellbeing is interrelated with that of others and the environment, emphasizing connectedness as a culturally specific protective factor.

AI/AN Communities where the measure has been used

Southwest tribal communities; Midwest; Native communities in the Great Lakes region; Alaska Native communities; American Indian communities residing on reservations in upper Midwestern states; Southwestern Alaska (off the road system, accessible by boat, plane, or snow machine)

Demographics of AI/AN participants where the scale has been used

Women ages 14+ with young children; Indigenous young adults; American Indian adults with a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis; Alaska Native youth ages 12–18

Notes on adaptations or modifications

  1. Language changes made for clarity
  2. Walls et al. (2022) and Brockie et al. (2018) included six items from the original 12-item measure
  3. The response scale can be presented in different ways – in the Walls et al. (2022) and Brockie et al. (2018) versions, a 3-point scale including “Not at all”, “Somewhat”, and “A lot” is presented to participants as distinct options. Originally, the response scale used for this measure was a continuous analog scale presented on a computer with semantic anchors of “Not at all”, “Somewhat”, and “A lot”.
  4. Yuuyaraq/Way of the Human Being version adapted for Yup’ik youth:
    • Items rewritten for clarity and appropriate difficulty level using community-based participatory methods
    • Representative items include “When I do good things for my community, good things happen to me,” “I like to share without expecting things back,” and “I treat animals and the land with respect, like they are family” (complete measure available upon request to author).
    • Adaptations guided by principles of cultural equivalence (functional, conceptual, metric, linguistic, and stimulus)
    • Administered in an interactive digital format featuring culturally resonant imagery (e.g., a salmon-shaped slider moving across water)

Modality and administration

Self-report;

  • (Walls et al., 2022), community interviewers administered the questions in this scale verbally (in-person or using the phone) and recorded participant answers on paper or REDCap using laptops/tablets.
  • In the Maawaji’ idi-oog Mino-ayaawin (Gathering for Health) project (Brockie et al., 2018), surveys were administered in tribal health clinics using paper-based or digital surveys.
  • In the Qungasvik project, the youth version was administered online in school-based computer labs via secure web server.

Scoring

Scoring method depends on response scale presentation (see adaptations section). In the Healing Pathways project (Walls et al.), all six items were summed to create a measure of awareness of connectedness. The Yuuyaraq/Way of the Human Being responses were captured on a continuous analog scale and converted to a 5-point scale for analyses; higher scores indicate stronger awareness of connectedness

Psychometric evidence

Original ACS (Mohatt et al., 2011):

  • Confirmatory factor analysis supported a four-factor, second-order model (individual, family, community, natural environment) with good fit
  • Reliability: α=.85 overall; subscales α=.54–.80
  • Convergent validity supported via positive correlations with Reasons for Life (r=.62) and Communal Mastery (r=.44)

Brockie, Elm, & Walls (2018):

  • 6-item version (α=.74); connectedness positively associated with better physical and mental health among adults with Type 2 diabetes

Walls et al. (2022):

  • 6-item version (α=.75); unidimensional factor structure confirmed
  • Higher awareness of connectedness associated with greater sociocultural integration and higher physical, mental, and spiritual health (criterion validity)

Yuuyaraq/Way of the Human Being (Allen et al., 2021):

  • Factor structure: Confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor second-order model
  • Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha for the full scale ≈ .79; subscales ranged .56–.67
  • Convergent validity: Positive correlations with related protective factors, including Mastery (r = .57), Family Relationship (r = .58), Community Resilience (r = .55), and Connectedness (r = .50)

Citation(s)

Original Citation:

  • Mohatt, N. V., Fok, C. C., Burket, R., Henry, D., & Allen, J. (2011). Assessment of Awareness of Connectedness as a Culturally-Based Protective Factor for Alaska Native Youth. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 17(4), 444–455. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025456

Example Use/Adaptations Citations:

  • Walls, M., Hautala, D., Cole, A., et al. (2022). Socio-cultural integration and holistic health among Indigenous young adults. BMC Public Health, 22, 1002. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13395-3
  • Brockie, T. N., Elm, J. H. L., & Walls, M. L. (2018). Examining protective and buffering associations between sociocultural factors and adverse childhood experiences among American Indian adults with type 2 diabetes: a quantitative, community-based participatory research approach. BMJ open, 8(9), e022265. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022265
  • Allen, J., Rasmus, S. M., Fok, C. C. T., Charles, B., Trimble, J., Lee, K., & the Qungasvik Team. (2021). Strengths-Based Assessment for Suicide Prevention: Reasons for Life as a Protective Factor From Yup’ik Alaska Native Youth. Assessment, 28(3), 709–723. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191119875789
  • Sittner, K. J., Herman, K. A., Gonzalez, M. B., & Walls, M. L. (2023). A longitudinal study of positive mental health and coping among Indigenous adults with type 2 diabetes. Anxiety, stress, and coping, 36(3), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2022.2076082