Development and Initial Validation of the Cultural Competency for Working with Asian American Clients (CCAAC) Scale

Background and Purpose: Asian Americans tend to report receiving lower quality services from service providers, such as social workers. In this situation, we should consider both real causes and the reported experiences of Asian American client’s dissatisfaction with social workers. If social workers have different background from their clients, we might find that a lack of cultural competence on the part of the social worker. This may explain the Asian American’s dissatisfaction with the service providers. Importantly, adequate cultural competence for social workers who work with Asian Americans is needed. However, there is no cultural competence scale which include specific knowledge of Asian cultural for social workers who work with Asian American clients. Therefore, the current study develops a reliable and valid measure of cultural competence for working with Asian American clients in fields of social work.

Methods: Before data collection, content validation was conducted by eight experts. As a result of this process, a 36-item instrument was utilized in the validation study. A non-probability sample of bachelor and master level students was recruited in-person from several face-to-face social work courses at a major Southeastern public university in the U.S. The sample was composed of 294 students. The survey included 36 newly developed CCAAC items, 11 demographic questions, two single items and three standardized instruments. To be specific, Asian American Values Scale (Kim, Li, & Ng’s (2005), the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills survey (D'Andrea, Daniels, & Heck, 1991), and two single items were administered with the newly developed CCAAC items for testing of convergent. Also, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988) was administered with the newly developed CCAAC items for testing of discriminant validity. Statistical test included reliability analyses (Cronbach’s alpha), standard error of measurement (SEM), confirmatory factors analysis (CFA), and correlational analyses.

Results: The 29-item final version of the CCAAC provides a reliable and valid tool for measuring social workers’ cultural competency with Asian American clients. The instrument demonstrates robust reliability (cultural skills α =.848; cultural knowledge α= .774; global α =. 822) and excellent model fit (CFI =.96; TLI =.96; RMSEA =.04; SRMR =.05; χ²/df ratio =1.45). The standard error of measurement (SEM) statistics for each subscale (cultural skills=.24; cultural knowledge=.21) and for the global scale (SEM=.17) met the criterion threshold of 5 %( 0.30) of the possible CCAAC item response range from 1 to 7. Moreover, four of five convergent and discriminant validity hypotheses were supported in this study.

Conclusions and Implications:The CCAAC scales can be utilized as suitable tool to measure the outcomes of social work educational programs that include cultural competence for working with Asian Americans. During coursework, social work students might learn knowledge about different cultural groups that can be applied to actual clients in practice settings. By using the CCAAC scale, social work students can assess their cultural competence for working with Asian American clients. With the aid of this assessment, they can provide effective services and treatments to their Asian American clients.