Cross-cultural Adaptation of International College Students in the United States

Abstract

The number of international students attending U.S. colleges and universities has increased considerably over the past decade, and the adaptation of these students is an important concern in cross-cultural research. Using survey data collected from a sample of 169 international students attending a U.S. university, this study examines the temporal patterns of students’ psychological and socio-cultural adaptation. Theresults suggest a two-phase U-curved process of psychological adaptation, with the most obvious culture shock occurring during a student’s first nine to 24 months of residence. Socio-cultural adaptation is found to increase steadily over time, without significant retreat. Interpretations, implications, and limitations of the findings are provided.

Proses Adaptasi Kaum Muda yang Bermigrasi ke Kota Yogyakarta dan Bandung

“…Kegagalan proses adaptasi secara sosial menyebabkan individu mengalami isolasi dengan lingkungan sosial (Y. Y. Kim, 2001), individu juga akan mengalami dampak secara psikologis seperti merasa stres, merasa tertekan (Alemi & Stempel, 2018), gegar budara (culture shock) (Wang et al, 2018), perasaan tidak menyenangkan, dan merasa cemas (Unjore, 2014). Selanjutnya, budaya, bahasa, dan gaya komunikasi yang berbeda secara fisik juga dapat menghambat proses adaptasi para pendatang (Muchura-Theuri & Obuya, 2018).…”

The effects of ethnic identity and acculturation in mental health of immigrants: A literature review

“…For immigrants around the world, acculturation has been an ongoing process for almost a century. Upon arrival in the new country and during the initial stages of adaptation, immigrants tend to undergo a culture shock which may include confusion, denial and anger (Y. Wang et al, 2018).…”

Socio-Cultural Adaptation Of Students In A Foreign Language Environment: Factor Analysis

“…In research literature there have been attempts to investigate the strategies that international students use to overcome the challenges of cross-cultural adaptation (Fu et al, 2018;Peng & Wu, 2019;Wang et al, 2018). Russel et al (2010) found that generally there are three patterns of adjusting to host culture: positive and connected, unconnected and stressed, and distressed and risk-taking.…”