“I lost myself”

Abstract

International Graduate Students (IGS) may share their journey in the United States with their accompanying families. Families tend to be the student, their spouse, and children if they have any. Those individuals who travel with the student are sometimes referred to as dependents. As they go through acculturation, both students and dependents encounter the challenge of affirming or reinventing their identities. In this study, we used the communication theory of identity (CTI) to analyze the disparate experiences of both groups. In CTI four layers constitute the concept of identity. The layers are: a) The way individuals see themselves (personal), b) their communicative interaction through social roles (relational), c) their construction of messages (enactment), and d) their role within a group or social network (communal). Thus, CTI views identity as a communicative and relational phenomenon.