Developing a Multidimensional Instrument to Measure Culture Brokering

Migration from country to country has significantly increased over the past 25 years across the world (Beckerman & Corbett, 2008). During this transition, researchers assert that immigrants experience acculturation, the process of cultural and psychological change resulting from immigrants’ interactions with the residents, norms, laws, and institutions of the host country (Berry, 2006; Birman & Trickett, 2001). The process of acculturation can be complex, stressful, and overwhelming for immigrant families (Rumbaut, 1994). As such, immigrant parents ask their children to assist them with the acculturation process, taking on a role that has been referred to as culture brokering. Researchers have conceptualized and measured the culture brokering in various ways. However, the current conceptualizations and measurements have not captured the full range of activities in which culture brokers engage. The present study aimed to first expand upon the definition of the culture brokering construct to include four domains: Translator/Interpreter, Cultural Guide, Family Task Manager, and Family Consultant. Given this broadened re-conceptualization, a new measure which included items fully reflecting the culture brokering construct was needed. The subsequent aim of this study was to develop and validate a culture brokering instrument that measures the degree to which children serve as translators, guides, task managers, and consultants as part of their family’s acculturation process. Focus groups, cognitive interviews, and analyses of reliability and validity of the refined culture brokering instrument were conducted. Following, tests of discriminant, convergent, and predictive validity were performed, and a final version of the multidimensional culture brokering instrument is presented.