!!!%center%The Development and Validation of the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale
 %center%  
 %center%Guo-Ming Chen, Ph.D.
 %center%Department of Communication Studies
 %center%University of Rhode Island
 %center%Kingston, RI 02881, USA
 %center%Tel: (401) 874-4731
 %center%Email: gmchen@uri.edu
 %center%  
 %center%William J. Starosta, Ph.D.
 %center%Department of Communication
 %center%Howard University
 %center%Washington, D. C. 20059
 %center%Tel: (202) 806-4039
 %center%Email: wstarosta@fac.howard.edu

Keywords: Intercultural Sensitivity Scale, reliability, validity, intercultural communication


The present study developed and assessed reliability and validity of a new instrument, the
Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS). Based on a review of the literature, 44 items thought
to be important for intercultural sensitivity were generated. A sample of 414 college
students rated these items and generated a 24-item final version of the instrument which
contains five factors. An assessment of concurrent validity from 162 participants
indicated that the ISS was significantly correlated with other related scales, including
interaction attentiveness, impression rewarding, self-esteem, self-monitoring, and
perspective taking. In addition, the predicted validity test from 174 participants showed
that individuals with high ISS scores also scored high in intercultural effectiveness and
intercultural communication attitude scales. Potential limitations and future direction of
the study were discussed as well.

*NOTE: ABSTRACT LENGTH MUST BE 150-200 words