Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education The Deaf Acculturation Scale (DAS): Development and Validation of a 58-Item Measure

This study involved the development and validation of the Deaf Acculturation Scale (DAS), a new measure of cultural identity for Deaf and hard-of-hearing (hh) populations. Data for this study were collected online and involved a nation-wide sample of 3,070 deaf/hh individuals. Results indicated strong internal reliabilities for all the subscales, and con-struct validity was established by demonstrating that the DAS could discriminate groups based on parental hearing status, school background, and use of self-labels. Construct validity was further demonstrated through factorial analyses, and findings resulted in a final 58-item measure. Directions for future research are discussed. As our society becomes increasingly multicultural, many struggle to reconcile the conflicting cultural expectations that they face. Deaf and hard-of-hearing (hh) people are no exception. In fact, many deaf/hh1 people experience cultural conflicts that surround their potential involvement in two distinct cultural groups: hearing culture and Deaf culture. Although Deaf cultures may have existed as far back as the mid-17th century (Bulwer, 1648), it has only been in the last 30 years that scholarly attempts have been made to define the parameters around which Deaf culture exists. One direct outcome of this research is that many Deaf people have shifted their perceptions of themselves as persons with a hearing loss or medical pathology, to those who belong to a unique cultural group with its own language, historical traditions, ar