Subjective Well-Being of Angolan Students in Portugal

Abstract

This study examined the subjective well-being (SWB) of international students. International students represent one of the biggest and most relevant sojourners groups. The sample included 204 Angolan international students who attended Portuguese universities and a control group of native-born Portuguese students. Using quantitative survey research methods, the relative strengths of demographic, acculturation, and sociocultural adaptation factors in predicting two indicators of SWB (overall well-being and academic satisfaction) were explored. Angolan students revealed lower levels of well-being and higher levels of academic satisfaction than Portuguese students. As expected, language proficiency, interaction with conationals, ethnic identity, and sociocultural adaptation were significantly correlated with SWB. In addition, results indicated that acculturation and sociocultural adaptation variables accounted for a larger proportion of explained variance in SWB than demographic variables. Academic satisfaction predicted well-being beyond demographic, acculturation, and sociocultural factors. Some implications of the findings for improving SWB of international students and future research are discussed.