Culinary acculturation assessment inventory (CAAI): Construction and validation in first generation immigrant consumers in Turkey

Abstract

The effect of immigration upon immigrants' choice of food should be captured not only with dietary intake, but also through assessing culturally-based culinary exposures. This approach would advance dietary acculturation research towards culinary acculturation. For this purpose, Culinary Acculturation Assessment Inventory (CAAI) is developed, using visual items. Validity and reliability of CAAI relating to the Turkish Cuisine were determined in a group of first-generation immigrants. Recommended scale development methods were employed. The initial version, including 40 items across two domains of dietary intake and culinary exposures was administered to 256 participants (162 immigrants from 53 countries, 94 Turkish participants). Exploratory factor analyses were performed to identify dietary and culinary practice patterns. Final version of CAAI included 37 items, comprising five factors in dietary domain as basic, meat-heavy, starch-heavy, and accessory foods patterns (Cronbach's alpha: 0.834), and one factor in cuisine-related practices domain (Cronbach's alpha: 0.732). Construct validity was investigated by Multiple Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) comparing CAAI factor scores between the immigrant and Turkish participants. Among immigrants, comparisons were made according to acculturation proxies, while accounting for potential covariates. Factor scores that differed significantly between the immigrants and Turkish people (basic and cuisine-related practices patterns) also differed significantly among immigrants with high vs. low fluency in Turkish. In conclusion, CAAI is a reliable and valid measure of culinary acculturation of immigrant population. This novel instrument and its short version can be adapted and used in other countries to capture the culinary acculturation of their immigrants.