Description

The Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) is a 20-item self-report questionnaire that measures acculturation along two independent dimensions: orientation toward one’s heritage culture and orientation toward the mainstream culture. It contains parallel items that assess participation in cultural traditions, values, social activities, and friendships, with responses rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from not at all to very much so. Scores on each dimension are calculated separately, allowing individuals to be positioned on both cultural continua rather than along a single assimilation–separation spectrum.

AI/AN Communities where the measure has been used

Aboriginal, First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities in Canada

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

  • Community sample of Indigenous adults, age range 18-79
  • Indigenous university students, predominantly young adults (mean age 21 years)
  • All self-identified as First Nations, Aboriginal, Métis or Inuit

Notes on adaptations or modifications

  1. Minor language changes: such as “heritage culture” to “Aboriginal culture” and “North American” to “Canadian”
  2. Scoring changes: Response scale was adapted to a 9-point Likert scale instead of a 5-point Likert scale

Modality and administration

Self-report; completed on paper during in-person study appointments (community or university settings)

Scoring

  • The Vancouver Index is scored by averaging items (on a 5-point Likert scale or a 9-point Likert scale) separately for each dimension (heritage/Aboriginal and mainstream/Canadian). This yields two continuous subscale scores, not a single combined score.
    • Original: 5-point scale (1 = Not at all, 5 = Very much so); average the 10 heritage items and 10 mainstream items separately.
    • Adapted: 9-point scale (1 = Strongly Disagree, 9 = Strongly Agree); scoring otherwise identical
    • Higher Heritage mean = greater enculturation; higher Mainstream mean = greater acculturation

Psychometric evidence

  • Ryder et al. (2000): Cronbach’s α ≈ 0.90 for Heritage items, α ≈ 0.89 for Mainstream items
  • Currie et al. (2013): Cronbach’s α = 0.85 for Heritage (Enculturation) items in an Indigenous young-adult sample

Citation(s)

Original Citation:

    • Ryder, A. G., Alden, L. E., & Paulhus, D. L. (2000). Is acculturation unidimensional or bidimensional? A head-to-head comparison in the prediction of personality, self-identity, and adjustment. Journal of personality and social psychology, 79(1), 49–65. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.79.1.49

Examples of measure use:

    • Currie, C. L., Wild, T. C., Schopflocher, D. P., Laing, L., & Veugelers, P. (2013). Illicit and prescription drug problems among urban Aboriginal adults in Canada: the role of traditional culture in protection and resilience. Social science & medicine (1982), 88, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.03.032
    • Currie, C. (2012). Social determinants of alcohol, drug and gambling problems among urban Aboriginal adults in Canada (Doctoral dissertation). University of Alberta. https://doi.org/10.7939/R39S8M

Disclaimer: The included citations are examples we had access to and not the entirety of examples that exist.