Page Last Updated: May 14, 2026

Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA)🔗

Table Name	`sed_cg_via`
Construct	Acculturation
Study Visits	V05
Administration	Child-specific: No Respondent: Birth Parent or Primary Caregiver Method: HBCD Study staff or self-administered, in person or remote (5 min estimated duration)
Quality Control	The VIA is administered only if the caregiver, spouse/partner, or any of the child's grandparents were born outside the U.S. If all are U.S.-born, the survey platform (REDCap) automatically ends the questionnaire after the screening questions.

When using HBCD data, all data users must agree to responsible use as described in the data use certification (DUC). When conceptualizing studies, analyzing data, and communicating analyses hat address socially sensitive topics, it is critical that data users consider strategies to avoid stigmatization of any groups and avoid perpetuating harmful biases.

Immigration status was not collected as part of this measure, and data users should not infer or assume immigration status in their analyses or interpretations.

Some variables in this release have small cell sizes. As a condition of using these data, specified in the DUC, you agree not to identify any individual from whom data was obtained and not to identify their relatives. You agree to a minimum cell threshold of 10 in any public reporting of the data (publications, posters, or other presentations). Protecting participants’ anonymity demonstrates respect for them and minimizes their research-related risks.

Instrument Details🔗

Acculturation is a cultural change that occurs when individuals from one cultural background come into continuous, first-hand contact with another cultural setting. This happens when immigrants emigrate from their heritage culture to a receiving culture, in this case the United States or “American” culture. Acculturation may also happen when second-generation US-born individuals with foreign-born parents experience a family/heritage culture in their home and upbringing that is different from the environmental culture they were born into, in this case “American” culture. This first-hand contact may result in individual changes (i.e., values, attitudes, beliefs, and identities) and group changes (i.e., social and cultural systems).

The Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) measures acculturation orientations, or the way immigrants prefer to relate to the society of settlement (cultural adoption) and country of origin (cultural maintenance). For this study, we use the terms “family culture” for a participant’s heritage/ethnic cultural practices and “American culture” for cultural practices that are part of mainstream American culture. In VIA, concepts are not unidimensional where an individual can either maintain the culture of origin OR adopt the culture of settlement. Participants are allowed to choose more than one culture to account for multicultural households. The VIA seeks to understand the participant’s personal preferences for taking part in their family culture as well as those of American culture, if they are different.

Some immigrants may consider American culture as their family culture. They can select “none” to indicate they do not identify with a culture other than American. We attempted to capture many different countries, ethnicities, and religions for participants to select. However, if a participant’s family culture is not listed, they can select “None of these apply/My family culture is not listed.”

Participants are not to be asked about immigration or documentation status. The intent is that they only answer this survey if they feel comfortable revealing their generational status (first, second, or third generation immigrant) based on the gating questions provided.

The family culture subscore is the mean of the 9 items asking about "family culture," whereas the mainstream subscore is the mean of the 9 items asking about "American culture."

Family culture questions are even-numbered: sed_cg_via_006 through sed_cg_via_022.

American culture questions are odd-numbered: sed_cg_via_007 through sed_cg_via_023.

If a participant chooses 777 ("Decline to answer"), or 999 ("Don't know"), please do not include those values in the mean score calculations.

High scores on each 9-item subscale can be interpreted as a positive orientation toward the specific cultural group and/or higher levels of identification with the culture represented. A high score on both subscales is associated with having a strong bicultural identity. Subscale mean scores can be used independently and/or compared by researchers in a variety of ways, depending on the research question.

References🔗

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. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.79.1.49. PMID: 10909877.

Testa, S., Doucerain, M. M., Miglietta, A., Jurcik, T., Ryder, A. G., & Gattino, S. (2019). The Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA): New evidence on dimensionality and measurement invariance across two cultural settings. JInternational Journal of Intercultural Relations, 71, 60–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2019.04.001