Translation and validation of the East Asian Acculturation Measure (EAAM) among Myanmar migrants in Thailand

Background: Acculturation provides a framework for exploring the health behaviors of ethnic minority or cultural groups. Research on the acculturation level and patterns of Myanmar migrants is crucial since there is ample evidence that acculturation promotes health-promoting behaviors. However, no Myanmar version has undergone cross-cultural validation. Objective: This study aimed to translate the original East Asian Acculturation Measure (EAAM) into the Myanmar version (EAAM-M) and investigate its psychometric properties. Methods: The validation study was conducted on a sample of 200 Myanmar migrants in three factories in Bangkok, Thailand, by a multistage random sampling method from August to September 2023. Brislin’s back translation technique was applied to convert the original EAAM into its modified version, EAAM-M. The reliability, content validity, and construct validity of the EAAM-M were examined, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to test the appropriateness of the model that underpins the EAAM-M structure. Results: The average age of the participants was 38.39 years (SD = 5.56), and 68% of participants reported they earned less than 9000 baht. In terms of how long they stayed in Thailand, slightly over half (52.5%) did so for 1-5 years. Nearly half of them (46%) cannot communicate at all regarding their proficiency in speaking Thai. The score regarding the comparability of language and similarity of interpretability between the original EAAM and the EAAM-M was satisfactory. The overall alpha reliability of the EAAM-M was 0.76. Based on the CFA, the measurement model was well fit, with acceptable goodness-of-fit values (Chi-square test of model fit (p = 0.05), CMIN/df = 1.70 (X2 = 624.931, df = 366), RMSEA = 0.02, CFI = 0.98, and SRMR = 0.06). The validity and reliability of the factors were affirmed through appropriate factor loadings and satisfactory levels of composite reliability (0.942) and average variance extracted (0.538). Conclusion: The EAAM-M is a reliable and valid instrument to measure the acculturation patterns of Myanmar migrants. It is beneficial for scholars across various disciplines, including health professionals and nurses, to deliver culturally tailored care for migrants

Alcohol Consumption and Current Situation of Drinking Risk Level Among University Students in Mandalay Region

Background: In Myanmar, alcohol consumption among university students had been recognized as a major public health concern. A cross-sectional study was done to investigate drinking alcohol and risk level assessment using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and examined the reasons of alcohol uses and types of beverage preference consumed. Methods: The two universities from three districts in Mandalay region were randomly selected, from which 976 students (stratified by academic year and sex) were contributed in self-administered questionnaire. Results: The mean age at first drinking alcohol among the participants was 16.36_0.15 years with range of 16 to 19 years. The drinking risk level assessment using the AUDIT test, nearly half of the participants 48.7% were abstainers and 86 (8.8%) were high risk drinkers while 28 (2.9%) had alcohol dependency. Among those, 57.8% had experiences of alcohol drinking and the favorite beverage of the university students who drink alcohol was beer. Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that gender, smoking habit and living situation for drinking were significant predictors of alcohol consumption among university students. The results found out that living separately with parents and smoking habits were important factors for drinking alcohol with statistically significant at 95% confidence level. Conclusion: It provided evidence-based findings for knowing the alcohol consumption risk level among university students to prevent social deprivation and health risk behaviors. Findings from this study indicate a need for law governing, strictly prohibits the sale of alcohol directly or indirectly to those under the age of eighteen years. The alcohol intervention program can be helpful in modifying behaviors change communication in health promotion of university students. Keywords: Alcohol consumption, AUDIT test, drinking risk level, university students and binary logistic regression Received: 12 April 2019 Reviewed: 18 June 2019 Revised: 25 June 2019 Accepted: 8 July 2019 DOI: 10.35898/ghmj-3358