Social contact configurations of international students at school and outside of school: Implications for acculturation orientations and psychological adjustment |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Health Sciences, Massey University, New Zealand;2. School of Health, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand;3. Budapest Business School, Hungary;4. Faculty of Education and Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary;1. Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL)/CIS-IUL, Lisboa, Portugal;2. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands;1. School of International Education, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan, China;2. School of Foreign Languages, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan, China;3. Higher Education Institute, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan, China;1. Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services, The Claremont Colleges Services, Claremont, CA, United States;2. Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States;3. Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States;4. Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States;1. Changchun University of Science and Technology, Weixing Road 7186, Changchun, China;2. Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium;3. Jilin University, No.2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun City, China;1. University of Saskatchewan, Canada;2. University of British Columbia, Canada;1. Department of Higher Education, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK;2. Institute of Educational Technology, Open University UK, Milton Keynes, UK;3. Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK |
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| Abstract: | Social contact has been widely investigated as a contributing factor to international students’ cross-cultural adaptation. Previous investigations have focussed largely on understanding the relation between distinct sources of social contact and adaptation-related outcomes. What is less understood is whether different combinations of social contact are associated with different outcomes for international students and if these effects vary across formal (school) and informal (outside of school) contexts. In the present study, we use a person-centred approach to explore international students’ social contact configurations based on frequency of contact with co-nationals, locals, and other internationals at school and outside of school. Data from 291 international students were subjected to latent profile analysis and five contact configurations were identified: 1) isolated (12.7 %), 2) socializing with other internationals only (14.4 %), 3) socializing with other internationals and Hungarians (12.4 %), 4) socializing with co-nationals only (35.4 %), and 5) socializing with co-nationals and Hungarians (24.7 %). Patterns of interactions were largely consistent across contexts. Contact profiles reflected different acculturation orientations and showed differences in psychological outcomes. A stronger host culture orientation was associated with profiles characterized by frequent contacts with locals (Profiles 3 and 5), whereas home cultural orientation was greater in profiles characterized by frequent contacts with co-nationals (Profiles 4 and 5). The profile displaying frequent contacts with both co-nationals and locals reported the greatest psychological wellbeing, whereas the isolated profile was linked to poor psychological outcomes. Overall, findings highlight the importance of considering the configuration of social contacts as a whole. |
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| Keywords: | Flourishing home country orientation Host country orientation Private and public acculturation Positive and negative affect Social contact |
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