Metric Equivalence of the Bidimensional Acculturation Scale,the Satisfaction With Life Scale,and the Self-Construal Scale Across Spanish and English Language Versions

Abstract

The metric equivalence of translated scales is often in question but seldom examined. This study presents test-retest data that support the metric equivalence of the Spanish and English language versions of three measures: the Bidimensional Acculturation Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Self-Construal Scale. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four test conditions designating the language order of the presented questionnaire packets: (a) English-English, (b) English-Spanish, (c) Spanish-English, and (d) Spanish-Spanish. Internal and test-retest reliabilities were found to be adequate both within and across language versions. In addition to reliabilities, a comparison of the means across language versions supported their metric equivalence. Language effects and implications are discussed.

Keywords

measurement equivalence cultural differences methodology Mexican

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