Social support and cultural distance: Sojourners’ experience in China

Previous research has pinpointed that social support from host, co-national, and other international friends plays a pivotal role in successful adaptation to a new culture, yet research on this topic pertaining to China is inadequate. As such, using a cross-sectional sample of sojourners (N = 199) in major Chinese cities, the current study examines the relationship between sojourners’ self-reports of social support from the three sources and two psychological adaptation variables (i.e., anxiety and well-being) as well as the moderating effect of objective cultural distance. Regression analysis indicates that perceptions of host and international support are significant negative predictors of anxiety and positive predictors of psychological well-being. In addition, cultural distance moderated these predictive associations: host support and international support had a stronger negative association with anxiety and host support had a stronger positive association with well-being for participants whose cultural distance to China was lower compared to those whose cultural distance was higher. This study enhances our understanding of the dynamic interplay between social support and cultural distance in cross-cultural adaptation research within a Chinese cultural context.     

Choose your (international) contacts wisely: A multilevel analysis on the impact of intergroup contact while living abroad

A two year longitudinal study examined the influence of social contact abroad on student sojourners’ cultural adjustment and intergroup affect. Social contact was measured with regard to the three people that sojourners (exchange students) spent most time with. Both the quality of the relationship with each contact and the cultural background (host national, co-national) of each contact were measured, that is contact quality and contact source, respectively. The data were analysed through repeated measures multilevel modelling. Results indicate that good quality contact (independent of source) is associated with higher cultural adjustment in sojourners and lower levels of stress. Contact quality however, was not associated with intergroup affect. Source of contact was found to matter, especially over time. Specifically, in the later stages of the sojourn, having more co-national contacts among ones three most frequent contacts, was associated with higher levels of stress, reduced cultural adjustment and higher secondary outgroup derogation. These findings suggest that who sojourners have contact with, matters for both cultural adjustment and intergroup affect.     

An analysis of friendship networks, social connectedness, homesickness, and satisfaction levels of international students

International students continue to grow in number worldwide, prompting researchers to look for ways to make the study abroad experience more fruitful. One avenue of research has focused on friendship formation, the significant role it plays in the study abroad experience, and the unique friendship combinations made possible by the study abroad experience. International students form friendships with individuals from their own country, from other countries, and from the host country. Research has found that international students often have more friends from their home country; however, research has also demonstrated a relationship between having more host country friends and satisfaction, contentment, decreased homesickness, and social connectedness. The current study looks to further explore these relationships through a social network lens by examining friendship network ratios, strength, and variability of the three friendship groups. A friendship network grid was developed to assess where international students’ friends are from and how strong those friendships are. Eighty four international students completed a survey examining the relationship between friendship networks, social connectedness, homesickness, contentment, and satisfaction. Contrary to prior research, international students did not report having a higher ratio of individuals from their home country in their friendship networks. However, international students with a higher ratio of individuals from the host country in their network claimed to be more satisfied, content, and less homesick. Furthermore, participants who reported more friendship variability with host country individuals described themselves as more satisfied, content, and more socially connected. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

A peer mentoring social learning perspective of cross-cultural adjustment: The rapid-acculturation mateship program

One of the persisting challenges facing societies and organizations is to socially integrate sojourners, expatriates, including migrants into the host culture whilst leveraging reciprocal cross-cultural learning experiences. In a quasi-experimental field study, using an embedded unequal design, incoming international students’ (i-Students’) adjustment processes were investigated via a comprehensive 18/19-week peer mentoring social learning cross-cultural adjustment program. Forty-three local mentors were paired with 126 i-Student mentees, and 238 i-Students served as a control group. Quantitative and complementary qualitative data were collected from mentees, mentors, and controls at three time-points. Results showed effects in intercultural communication, cultural adjustment, life skills, and well-being domains. Mentors’ 360-degree synchronous evaluation of mentees showed increases in all skills measured. Post-program responses from participants confirmed the increase in communication and life skills, supporting the social learning hypothesis. Theoretical and practical implications are presented to assist individuals studying and/or working with their acculturation in foreign nations.     

Psychological distress among international students in Turkey

This study examined predictors of psychological distress in a sample of 334 international students studying at different public universities in Turkey. The standard multiple regression analysis was used to clarify the contributions of individual characteristics, interaction with Turkish students, perceived discrimination, Turkish language proficiency, perceived cultural distance, integration to social life in Turkey, and life satisfaction to psychological distress of international students. The results revealed that life satisfaction, integration to social life in Turkey, Turkish language proficiency, and length of stay in the host country (Turkey) account for 32.8% of the variance in the international students’ psychological distress levels. The study concludes that factors contributing to psychological distress of foreign students are related to some individual characteristics and personal factors. Hence, foreign students need to go through a preparation process/program in their home country. Then a guidance and orientation program needs to be provided in the host country.     

Does religion matter? Italians’ responses towards Muslim and Christian Arab immigrants as a function of their acculturation preferences

A 2 × 2 × 2 experiment examined the role of immigrants’ religion and perceived acculturation strategy on majority members’ attitudes. Acculturation strategies were manipulated along the two dimensions of contact and culture maintenance. Italian majority members (N = 247) read fictitious but seemingly real interviews with Arab immigrants, in which the immigrants’ religion (Muslim vs. Christian) and acculturation preferences (desire for contact and for culture maintenance) were manipulated. MANOVA showed a main effect of contact: majority members associated immigrants who were perceived to favour contact with more positive attitudes, empathy, trust, positive stereotypes and metastereotypes, and lower levels of threat. MANOVA also showed a main effect of culture maintenance: when immigrants were perceived to abandon their culture, majority members reported lower levels of symbolic threat and greater empathy towards them. A significant Religion x Culture maintenance interaction effect emerged on majority members’ stereotypes and contact intentions: Muslim immigrants who were perceived to abandon their heritage culture elicited more favourable responses than Muslim immigrants who were perceived to maintain their heritage culture. Taken together, these findings suggest that desire for intergroup contact amongst immigrants, independently of their religion, can promote harmonious intergroup relations with the majority group.     

Why can’t we be friends?: Multicultural attitudes and friendships with international students

International students in the U.S. undertake a life changing endeavor that offers benefits and presents challenges, including a loss of social support. While studies suggest friendships with host country nationals are important for a successful experience, forming friendships with U.S. American students is challenging and rare. Difficulties establishing friendships are exacerbated when the context of adjustment is marked by prejudicial attitudes or a history of problematic intercultural relations. In this study, we sought to understand the lack of cross-cultural social reciprocity from U.S. students at a mid-size Southern university known for its racial divisiveness. We explored how students with and without international friendships differed on multicultural personality characteristics, intercultural attitudes, and multicultural experiences, such as participation in study abroad. Differences related to gender and membership in a sorority or fraternity were explored, as were amount of contact and closeness of the friendships. Students with international friendships had higher scores on open-mindedness and lower scores on intercultural communication apprehension. We discuss the findings and their implications for promoting international and U.S. student friendships.     

Facebook contact: The effect of an outgroup member’s language proficiency on desire for future intergroup contact

Guided by contact theory, we examined the effect of an international student’s English language proficiency on American students’ desire for future interaction with international students, online and in-person. We created a fictitious Facebook page of a female Chinese international student and experimentally manipulated her Facebook posts to represent low or high English proficiency. American students (N = 126) in the high proficiency condition reported more identification with the international student, which subsequently led to more desire for future interaction with the student both online and in person. These effects generalized to a desire for interaction with other Chinese students (again, both online and in person). The findings of the study have theoretical and practical implications for online intergroup communication.     

Intercultural engagement and relatedness: Examining mediation effects

Most research on student sojourners has studied students coming from the Majority World to Western countries, especially the United States, for undergraduate and graduate education. Though increasing greatly in numbers, shorter sojourn has not been the focus of attention. With regard to the adjustment of sojourners, research has tended to stress situational factors rather than personality. This study is different in terms of focusing on short term educational sojourn of Western students in a Majority World country and examining the effect of personal characteristics and cultural evaluation of the sojourners on their experience. Relatedness and country of origin were found to influence the cultural experience of exchange students through their cultural evaluation at baseline. Students with higher relatedness orientation had more positive cultural evaluations at baseline which then led to a more positive cultural experience in the receiving country.     

Social contact configurations of international students at school and outside of school: Implications for acculturation orientations and psychological adjustment

Social contact has been widely investigated as a contributing factor to international students’ cross-cultural adaptation. Previous investigations have focussed largely on understanding the relation between distinct sources of social contact and adaptation-related outcomes. What is less understood is whether different combinations of social contact are associated with different outcomes for international students and if these effects vary across formal (school) and informal (outside of school) contexts. In the present study, we use a person-centred approach to explore international students’ social contact configurations based on frequency of contact with co-nationals, locals, and other internationals at school and outside of school. Data from 291 international students were subjected to latent profile analysis and five contact configurations were identified: 1) isolated (12.7 %), 2) socializing with other internationals only (14.4 %), 3) socializing with other internationals and Hungarians (12.4 %), 4) socializing with co-nationals only (35.4 %), and 5) socializing with co-nationals and Hungarians (24.7 %). Patterns of interactions were largely consistent across contexts. Contact profiles reflected different acculturation orientations and showed differences in psychological outcomes. A stronger host culture orientation was associated with profiles characterized by frequent contacts with locals (Profiles 3 and 5), whereas home cultural orientation was greater in profiles characterized by frequent contacts with co-nationals (Profiles 4 and 5). The profile displaying frequent contacts with both co-nationals and locals reported the greatest psychological wellbeing, whereas the isolated profile was linked to poor psychological outcomes. Overall, findings highlight the importance of considering the configuration of social contacts as a whole.     

Consensual and individual stereotypic beliefs about international students among American host nationals

The present study examined the consensual stereotype of an extraordinarily heterogeneous social group, international students who are sojourning in the United States, among American host nationals. The content and valence of the cultural stereotype was assessed using a multicomponent, free-response methodology with N=100 American college students. On the whole, consensual and individual stereotypic representations of international students were somewhat favorable, although a number of negative attributes were consistently ascribed to the group. The percentages of agreement among participants concerning the attributes of foreign students were substantial, indicating that international students are regarded as a fairly homogenous outgroup by domestic students, notwithstanding the extreme heterogeneity of the foreign student population. Individual stereotypic beliefs about international students were significantly correlated with overall attitudes and behaviors (social contact) toward the group. The negative evaluative content of participants’ individual stereotypic beliefs was strongly related to prejudicial attitudes and social avoidance of the group.     

Measuring Sojourner Adjustment among American students studying abroad

The literature on "Sojourner Adjustment," a term expanding on the acculturation concept to apply to groups residing temporarily in foreign environments, suggests that engagement, participation, and temporary integration into the host culture may contribute to less psychological and sociocultural difficulty while abroad. The present study was designed to establish a brief multi-component measure of Sojourner Adjustment (the Sojourner Adjustment Measure; SAM) to be used in work with populations residing temporarily in foreign environments (e.g., international students, foreign aid workers). Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on a sample of 248 American study abroad college students, we established a 24-item measure of Sojourner Adjustment composed of four positive factors (social interaction with host nationals, cultural understanding and participation, language development and use, host culture identification) and two negative factors (social interaction with co-nationals, homesickness/feeling out of place). Preliminary convergent validity was examined through correlations with established measures of acculturation. Further research with the SAM is encouraged to explore the relevance of this measure with other groups of sojourners (e.g., foreign aid workers, international businessmen, military personnel) and to determine how SAM factors relate to psychological well-being, health behaviors, and risk behaviors abroad among these diverse groups.     

The Relationships among Perceptions of Social Support,Intercultural Communication Apprehension (ICA), and Conflict Management Preferences in the Context of Cultural Adaptation

This study explores the relationships among perceptions of social support from family and friends, Intercultural Communication Apprehension (ICA) and intercultural conflict management preferences. Two hundred and ninety students, comprising primarily of international students, participated in the study. The results of the study revealed that, in regards to handling conflict with members of the host culture, increased perceptions of social support from family and friends lowered the level of ICA, and the decrease in the level of ICA led to increased preferences for the integrating and the compromising styles and decreased preferences for the avoiding and the dominating styles. Hence, the results of the study suggest that the influence of the perceptions of social support may extend beyond the mere alleviation of acculturative stress and psychological well-being and may have implications for the integration of immigrants and sojourners into the host culture.     

Thrilling travel or lonesome long haul? Loneliness and acculturation behavior of adolescents studying abroad

Studying abroad far away from family and friends may put young people at particular risk of experiencing loneliness. From this perspective, behavioral strategies to deal with the challenges of a new living environment have important implications for the development of loneliness over the course of an educational stay abroad. This study investigates adolescents’ experience of loneliness over the course of a school year abroad, as well as the longitudinal interplay between loneliness and the sojourners’ host- and home-cultural behavioral engagement. To that end, we analyzed data from 1,225 student sojourners using latent growth curve models and cross-lagged panel models. Participants were surveyed four times before and during the student exchange period using online questionnaires. Our results showed that loneliness increased during the transition from home to the host country but decreased again afterwards. Host-cultural behavioral engagement predicted lower levels of loneliness by a direct effect, whereas home-cultural behavioral engagement predicted higher levels of loneliness by a time-lagged indirect effect via host-cultural behavioral engagement. Implications for acculturation and loneliness research, and practical implications for the support of student sojourners are discussed.     

Negative side effects of music listening during cross-cultural transitions: Exploring how music hinders cross-cultural (re)adaptation among student sojourners

Although media use has been shown to have benefits in many contexts, including study abroad, it may also hinder cross-cultural transitions in academic sojourns. This study examines how music (as a form of communication media) may interfere with adaptation to the host culture and readaptation to the home culture. Focus groups and interviews with a total of 23 college students (twelve U.S. students and eleven international students) revealed that music hindered sojourners’ ability to interact in social settings, as well as amplified negative feelings while abroad and during reentry. Participants experienced these temporary side effects in conjunction with (or as part of) their purposeful and functional use of music to escape from the social environment and alleviate negative emotions.     

More facebook,less homesick? Investigating the short-term and long-term reciprocal relations of interactions,homesickness, and adjustment among international students

Homesickness is one of the challenges that international students may encounter when they leave home. Homesickness is associated with social interactions and sociocultural adjustment, yet the directions of associations and temporal precedence are not clear. Thus, in this study, we tested a model which proposes that face-to-face (FtF) interaction with the host-country network, and Facebook interactions with the host- and the home-country networks predict homesickness, which, in turn, predicts sociocultural adjustment. We used cross-lagged and non-lagged reciprocal effects path analyses on a three-wave panel data gathered via online surveys. The results indicated that Facebook interaction with the host-country network lowered homesickness, in the long-term and the short-term. Paradoxically, homesickness increased Facebook interaction with the host-country network in the short-term. Lastly, homesickness lowered sociocultural adjustment in the short-term. We discuss how Facebook interaction with the host-country network could provide solace to international students when they miss home; and describe the implications of these findings for Facebook use and sociocultural adjustment among international students.     

Emotional support on re-entry into the home country: Does it matter for repatriates’ adjustment who the providers are?

This study examines the influence of repatriates’ emotional support providers (home country friends/relatives, host country friends/relatives, and friends/relatives with expatriate experience) on both their psychological and sociocultural adjustment on re-entry into their home country. The study builds on social identity theory and examines the mediating role of the salience of repatriates’ international role identity. Predictions are tested using a quantitative survey data of 121 repatriates. The results show a positive indirect effect of the amount of support repatriates receive from home country friends/relatives on both dimensions of adjustment through a decreased salience of their international role identity. Furthermore, analyses show a negative indirect effect of maintaining supportive connections with host country friends/relatives on both psychological and sociocultural adjustment through an increased salience of repatriates’ international role identity. The results also show a direct effect of having or not having host country friends/relatives as emotional support providers in such a way that repatriates who do not have supportive host country friends/relatives are better psychologically adjusted upon re-entry. This study raises new questions about generally accepted advice for the adjustment strategies of expatriates, such as building connections with host country nationals.     

Identity conflict in sojourners

The research adopted an intrapersonal perspective on identity and acculturation and explored the prediction of identity conflict in Chinese sojourners in Singapore. One hundred and six sojourners from the People's Republic of China completed a questionnaire which assessed tolerance of ambiguity, attributional complexity, host and co-national identification, quality and quantity of host and co-national contact, perceived discrimination, cultural distance, length of residence abroad and identity conflict. Step-wise regression analysis revealed that greater tolerance of ambiguity, attributional complexity, and co-national identification and less perceived discrimination and contact with host nationals predicted lower levels of identity conflict. These variables combined to account for 35% of the variance in the outcome measure. Results are discussed in terms of competing models of identity, acculturation and cross-cultural adaptation.     

The intercultural reentry: Conceptualization and directions for future research

While there has been extensive research on the cultural adjustment of sojourners to a foreign culture, there has been a dearth of literature examining the adjustment of returning sojourners to their home culture (reentry). In order to further understanding of this phenomenon, this article discusses the reentry process as one type of cultural adjustment. First, reentry is defined and described. Secondly, research investigating the two processes of adjustment to a foreign culture and readjustment to the home culture is reviewed, and the two processes are compared and contrasted. Finally, suggestions are made concerning future research.