EXAMINING CULTURAL ADAPTATION ACROSS TWO CULTURAL CONTEXTS: HOW DIFFERENT ARE YOUNG ADULTS IN SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES?

This study explores ethnic and gender differences in the sociocultural adaptation and adjustment of college students from a cultural-historical lens. We validate the Cultural Adaptation and Development Inventory (CADI), a new multidimensional test instrument that allows the role of social contexts to be examined in defining individual/group differences. This new tool assesses differences in cultural adaptation for both acculturated and acculturating groups in general. The reliability and validity of its four-factor model is described and summarized from a sequence of studies. Overall, the CADI provided evidence for a culturally valid measurement that shows both convergent and discriminant validity. Predicted group (Dominant vs. Non-Dominant [D/ND]) differences were replicated along with gender differences for Discouragement/Discrimination, Agency/Helplessness, Integrated Acculturation and Bigotry. We explored differences in cultural adaptation across D/ND groups in the United States and Spain. Using multivariate analyses, group-based differences were found for the four CADI factors by D/ND membership and gender. Differences in the cultural adaptation of Spanish and U. S. participants are discussed along with implications regarding the role of national cultural climates and instrument development. The study's cultural and face validity is further discussed in relation to [1], [2] and other models carrying implications for future assessments of groups' fit in multicultural contexts.