Description

The Aboriginal Cultural Engagement Survey (ACES) was developed to measure Aboriginal cultural engagement, defined as the extent to which individuals participate in cultural activities and traditions. The measure was created to address gaps in culturally valid assessments within Aboriginal health and wellbeing services. Items ask about engagement in cultural traditions, activities, and practices such as traditional cooking, art, ceremony, and participation in community. The purpose of the measure is to assess cultural engagement as a protective factor for health and wellbeing, and to provide information that may inform culturally sensitive treatment planning and evaluation.

AI/AN Communities where the measure has been used

Australia – Aboriginal populations

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

  • Aboriginal Australian adults engaged in substance abuse and community health services in Illawarra and South Coast regions of New South Wales
  • Aboriginal Australian men enrolled in residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs in New South Wales

Notes on adaptations or modifications

  • None reported

Modality and administration

Self-report; administered in paper-and-pencil format or with interviewer assistance.

Scoring

Respondents rate their engagement in cultural activities over the past year on a 4-point Likert scale:
• Not at all (none)
• A little (a few days in the year)
• A fair bit (a few weeks in the year)
• A lot (a few months in the year)

Scores are summed across items to produce a total cultural engagement score.

Psychometric evidence

Berry et al. (2012) reported excellent content validity for the ACES, with Content Validity Index (CVI) scores above 0.80 for all items. Further psychometric evaluation is recommended to assess reliability and construct validity.

Citation(s)

Berry, S. L., Crowe, T. P., & Deane, F. P. (2012). Preliminary development and content validity of a measure of Australian Aboriginal cultural engagement. Ethnicity & Health, 17(3), 325–336. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2011.645157 [Original citation]

Berry, S. L., Crowe, T. P., Deane, F. P., & Quinlan, E. (2022). An exploratory study of culture in treatment for Aboriginal Australian men in residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation services. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 21(1), 149–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2020.1725706

Note: The included citations are not exhaustive, but represent the examples we had access to. If you are an original author or have other work that could be included here, please contact us.