Expectation-experience discrepancies and psychological adjustment during cross-cultural reentry

Abstract

The study examined expectations, experiences and psychological adjustment during cross-cultural transition and reentry. Twenty secondary school students completed questionnaires during their overseas placements and then again after return to New Zealand. The initial questionnaire assessed expectations about social difficulty on reentry; the subsequent questionnaire measured actual social difficulty, anxiety and depression. Analyses revealed that: 1) there was no significant relationship between expectations and experiences; 2) actual, but not expected, social difficulty was related to anxiety and depression; and 3) realistic expectations as such (absolute differences between expectations and experiences) were unrelated to psychological adjustment; 4) however, when experiences were more difficult than expected, larger discrepancies were associated with psychological distress. The paper highlights methodological issues in research on expectations and discusses the implications of the findings for crosscultural training.