title: Acculturation and health survey question comprehension among Latino respondents in the US.
abstract: Although research has documented cultural variability in respondent comprehension and interpretation of survey questions, little information is currently available on the role that acculturation might play in minimizing cross-cultural differences in the comprehension or interpretation of survey questions. To investigate this problem, we examine the potential effects of acculturation to host culture on respondent comprehension of a set of health survey questions among two distinct Latino populations on the US mainland: Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans. Specifically, comprehension-related respondent behaviors coded from 345 face-to-face interviews conducted with Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, African American, and non-Latino White adults living in Chicago are examined. Findings indicate that Latino respondents who were born outside of the US and who have a preference for communicating in Spanish, relative to English, were more likely to express comprehension difficulties. These findings suggest that pretest survey instruments with immigrant populations may be a useful strategy for identifying problematic questions.
authors.affiliation: Zilber School of Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413, USA. cho3@uwm.edu
authors.forename: Young Ik
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Allyson
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Holbrook
authors.forename: Timothy P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult