ERIC Number: EJ936417
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 19
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1085-4568
EISSN: N/A
Implications of Early Sociocultural Adaptation for Study Abroad Students
Savicki, Victor
Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, v19 p205-223 Fall-Win 2010
Helping students and others facing the task of adapting to a foreign culture is becoming ever more pressing. The current study delves into sociocultural adaptation in order to clarify that process and provide information useful for educators, trainers, coaches, and others guiding those facing a sojourn in a foreign culture. A question to be examined is how to facilitate study abroad student sociocultural adaptation so that they can reap the benefits associated with the Integration strategy. Fundamental to answering that question is the need to discover what processes might be involved with successful versus unsuccessful sociocultural adaptation. The current study attempts to explore this matter by following students who report easy versus difficult sociocultural adaptation early in their sojourn. It examines the relationship between sociocultural and psychological adaptation. Specifically, it focuses on the impact of the ease of "fitting in" to a new culture with psychological outcomes of satisfaction and reactions to stress. One might predict that lower initial adaptation to living in a foreign culture might result in lower psychological adjustment. The study findings, however, are more complicated, revealing linkages to the quality of the study abroad experience more than to its outcomes. A brief literature review that sets the stage for the study is presented. (Contains 3 figures and 3 tables.)
Descriptors: Foreign Culture, Acculturation, Study Abroad, Second Language Learning, Sociocultural Patterns, Emotional Adjustment, Social Integration, College Students, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Measures (Individuals), Foreign Countries
Frontiers Journal. Dickinson College P.O. Box 1773, Carlisle, PA 17013. Tel: 717-254-8858; Fax: 717-245-1677; Web site: http://www.frontiersjournal.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Austria; Greece; Italy; Spain
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A