The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans (ARSMA) is a seminal bilingual acculturation measure designed for use with both clinical and non-clinical Mexican American populations. The development of the ARSMA was a timely response to the booming Mexican American population. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the Latino population is now the largest ethnic minority group in the United States, and 58.5% of this group is composed of Mexican Americans. Since its creation, the ARSMA has served as the model for many acculturation measures used with other ethnocultural groups.

The original ARSMA was a linear measure of acculturation developed by Israel Cuéllar, Lorwen C. Harris, and Ricardo Jasso in 1980 to assess cultural preferences and behavioral tendencies. In response to criticism that their measure obliged respondents ...