Jemmy Button syndrome? Subjective effects of international mobility experiences in 243 Chilean university students

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study examined the well-being and the emotional experience of Chilean university students after participating in an international exchange programme and the association between these factors and the underlying discontents of Chilean society. We sought to determine the extent to which the participants’ evaluation of their student exchange experience predicted their opinion of Chile. We employed a quantitative methodology with a descriptive and correlational design. The participants were 243 Chilean students who taken part in an exchange programme between 2014 and 2018 in 13 countries. Regression analyses showed that subjective experiences in Chile had a stronger predictive value for evaluating the country’s situation than subjective experiences developed abroad. This shows that, unlike Jemmy Button, the participating students were not as deeply shocked by their time abroad; rather, their deep-seated dissatisfaction with Chilean society is determined by their experiences in Chile and by a prior, permanent colonial domination that has entered the country through various paths.