Acculturative Stress Among International College Students

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to explore levels of acculturative stress among foreign-born undergraduate students. Additionally, the current study examined the relation between region of origin and level of acculturative stress. As hypothesized, mean levels of self-reported acculturative stress were higher in the current sample when compared to the original sample of the Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS; Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994). Additionally, as hypothesized, higher mean scores were reported on the (a) Homesickness, (b) Stress Due to Change/Culture Shock, and (c) Nonspecific Concerns subscales of the ASSIS compared to the other four subscales. Finally, partial support was found for the third hypothesis. While there was not a statistically significant difference on total acculturative stress scores between participants from European and non-European regions of origin, those from non-European regions did report statistically higher scores on the Nonspecific Concerns subscale compared to those from European regions.