The First Year Acculturation: A Longitudinal Study on Acculturative Stress and Adjustment among the First Year International College Students

Abstract

We analyzed 192 first year international college students in Mid-Atlantic region to examine change of international students’ acculturative stress, adjustment, and collegiate experiences during their first year in the U.S. higher education. We found that male students, students from low socio-economic status, and students majored in humanity showed higher rate of acculturative stress and lower rate of satisfaction with college experiences compared to their counterparts. International students reported decreased acculturative stress and homesick, and increased English proficiency, social connectedness, and satisfaction with college experiences during the last week of the first year compared to the first week of their first semester. Satisfaction with college experiences, English proficiency, social connectedness, and self-esteem were significant predictors of acculturative stress. Lastly, acculturative stress in the first week of the first year and satisfaction with college experience in the last week of the first year were on each other reciprocally over one year internal.

International students’ psychosocial well-being and social media use at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: A latent profile analysis

“…At the same time, about 12% of our sample reported facing intercultural difficulties, but not necessarily internalizing symptoms. In combination with the maladjusted group, the percentage of individuals facing intercultural difficulties is largely consistent with research prior to the pandemic, which found that over half of international students experienced at least mild level of intercultural difficulties (e.g., Koo et al, 2021 ; Poyrazli & Lopez, 2007 ). It highlights the need for customized support among young adults, especially of those who were marginalized and vulnerable.…”

Chinese International Students in the United States: The Interplay of Students’ Acculturative Stress, Academic Standing, and Quality of Life

“…In line with previous research ( Smith and Khawaja, 2011 ; Lopez and Bui, 2014 ), self-rated English proficiency was a significant predictor of international students’ acculturation experience. Different from some studies, which suggest that length of stay in the United States significantly shape international students’ acculturative stress levels ( Koo et al, 2021 ), the current findings indicate that the relationship was insignificant. One way to shed light on this finding is via gaining a deeper understanding of the scales studied.…”

Efficacy of Interventional Programs in Reducing Acculturative Stress and Enhancing Adjustment of International Students to the New Host Educational Environment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Gebregergis, Huang and Hong [2] reported that 506 international university students from seven Chinese universities experienced a higher level of acculturative stress with more significant depressive symptoms. Similarly, and Koo, et al [41] reported a higher level of acculturative stress among first-year international students enrolling in U.S. higher education. Likewise, and Musheer, Juni, Shahar and Ismail [17] reported that 78.5% out of 522 new postgraduate international students joining Malaysian Public Universities experienced a moderate level of acculturative stress, and 12.1% experienced a high level of acculturative stress, while 4.9% of them experienced a low level of acculturative stress.…”