Development and validation of the Chinese Acceptance Scale for university students (CAS) in Hong Kong, China

Background This paper reports the development and validation of the Chinese Acceptance Scale (CAS) as a measure of acceptance of diversity among Chinese university students. Integrating Western and Chinese conceptions of acceptance of diversity, the CAS was initially conceptualized with four dimensions: “diversity of contact,” “comfort with difference,” “appreciation of others,” and “ kuan rong ” (tolerance of others). Methods Study 1 involved content validation by an expert panel ( N = 10), which evaluated 25 items and resulted in a 20-item instrument covering the four proposed dimensions. Study 2 examined the psychometric properties of the CAS using two waves of data from 963 university students, assessing factor structure, measurement invariance, convergent and discriminant validity, and reliability. Results Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the initial four-factor model. However, the results indicated that “appreciation of others” and “kuan rong” were better represented as a single factor. The revised three-factor model consisted of “diversity of contact,” “comfort with difference,” and “inclusive appreciation.” This model showed good factorial validity, measurement invariance over time, and satisfactory reliability. Convergent and discriminant validity were also supported at the total-scale level, although further examination of these properties at the subscale level is needed. Overall, the findings suggest that the CAS can be used to assess acceptance of diversity among Chinese university students.