Acculturative Stress in International Students

Abstract

Studying in a university is more challenging for international students as compared to local students. They are required to cope with the differences between their cultural values, norms, and customs and those of the host country. Many are likely to experience stress related to the acculturation process – termed acculturative stress. There was evidence of the direct effect of acculturative stress on students’ academic satisfaction and well-being. Also, past studies have confirmed the significant relationship between social support and acculturative stress, but these studies have predominantly focused on social support from family members and friends. The fact that international students live apart from their family members and friends means that they are heavily dependent on the support of the host university. This study investigated the effect of acculturative stress on students’ academic satisfaction and well-being, with university support as the moderating factor. The data is collected using questionnaires through various online mediums. A total of 119 responses were used in the analysis. By employing the Smart PLS software, we tested four hypotheses. From the findings, students from the African region reported the highest acculturative stress level, while students from the SEA region reported the lowest. Also, evidence of the direct effect of acculturative stress on students’ satisfaction and well-being was discovered, however the moderation effects of university support on both relations were not substantiated. We attributed this finding to the characteristics of the respondents who participated in this study.