Correlates of international students’ intergroup intentions and adjustment: The role of metastereotypes and intercultural communication apprehension

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the link between metastereotypes of international students and their intergroup intentions and adjustment within the receiving country, considering the role of intercultural communication apprehension with host majority members. Participants were 191 international PhD students in Italy. All of them completed a questionnaire measuring positive and negative metastereotypes referred to their group (i.e., international students), intercultural communication apprehension, psychological adjustment, self-disclosure, and contact intentions with Italian majority members. Path analysis showed that the effects of positive and negative metastereotypes were not completely symmetrical. Positive metastereotypes were directly linked to self-disclosure and intended contact, while negative metastereotypes presented a direct link to psychological adjustment. Nevertheless, both of them were related to intercultural communication apprehension, which in turn was associated with psychological adjustment and willingness to communicate personal information and to have contacts with Italians. These findings proved that metastereotypes can be implicated in international students’ intergroup relations and adjustment, with some differences between negative and positive beliefs. It is also the latter that interventions should address to improve international students’ psychological well-being and intergroup relations within the receiving country.