A social cognitive model predicting international students’ cross-cultural adjustment in China

A Case Study Investigating the Relational Well-Being of International Students at Hohai University Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China

This study acknowledges the growing importance of international student mobility and examines the relational well-being of international students at Hohai University in Nanjing, China. Understanding the complexities of interactions among international students is essential for their well-being and the university's overall success, since this tendency continues to increase. By examining the distinct possibilities and problems faced by international students at Hohai University and considering elements including cultural distinctiveness, the campus environment, interpersonal dynamics, and support networks, the study fills a research void. For this purpose, 150 international students at Hohai University participated in semi-structured interviews and 10 participants participated in unstructured interviews as part of the mixed-methods approach to obtain in-depth information. Hence, the descriptive data were analyzed using SPSS and qualitative analyses were performed using NVIVO. According to preliminary findings derived from quantitative data, important results emphasize the significant impact of homesickness (0.143, T value: 5.931) and the positive correlation of relational well-being (0.146), highlighting their significance. The effect of the language barrier is also significant (0.125, T value: 4.378), whereas loneliness has little bearing (0.011, T value: 0.847). Additionally, the highest concern of the international students (M = 8.35; SD = 1.43) was making connections with local students. Additionally, (M = 8.21; SD = 1.15) international students favored Hohai University, which provided a welcoming atmosphere for intercultural dialogue. The Foreign Student Office, social events, cultural exchange programs, counseling services, and peer support networks are just a few examples of the support structures and networks crucial to international students' general well-being. At the same time, the cultural hurdles, including the language barrier and loneliness, seemed to be the challenge. The study concludes by shedding light on the relational well-being of international students at Hohai University and highlighting the importance of community-building and supporting actions. The results provide insightful information that will help the institution better respond to the particular difficulties that international students encounter, creating a more welcoming and stimulating atmosphere. This study establishes the foundation for further research in comparable contexts and advances our understanding of relational well-being in the context of experiences for overseas students.

The dual processes of health impairment and motivation in international student adjustment in China: insights from a demands-resources model

China has become one of the leading study abroad destinations worldwide. Recent research also indicates that international students encounter diverse life challenges and mental health issues in China. Therefore, scholars have shown increasing interest in their adjustment in Chinese social and academic settings. Seeking theoretical guidance from the Job Demands-Resources Model with mediation and moderation assumptions, our study aimed to test the dual processes (i.e., the health impairment process and the motivational process) leading to academic, sociocultural, and psychological adjustment, among international students sojourning in China. Using a convenience sampling method, our study recruited 1,001 participants (535 males and 466 females; M age = 22.73; SD = 1.62) who completed an online survey including scales of perceived cultural distance (contextual demands), social support from local members (contextual resources), coping self-efficacy (personal resources), acculturative stress, intercultural engagement, as well as three types of cross-cultural adjustment (academic, sociocultural, and psychological adjustment). Results based on the structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses indicated that perceived cultural distance had indirect relationships with the three types of adjustment through the mediator of acculturative stress. Social support from locals had indirect relationships with the three types of adjustment through the mediators of acculturative stress and intercultural engagement. Coping self-efficacy had indirect relationships with academic and sociocultural adjustment through the mediator of intercultural engagement. Additionally, social support from locals was revealed as a moderator that buffered the relationship between perceived cultural distance and acculturative stress. These mediated and moderated relationships not only confirmed the dual processes underlying international student adjustment, but also added new knowledge of how demands and resources can interplay to predict the dual processes.

Adaptação ao ensino superior e autoeficácia em universitários medalhistas em Olimpíadas Científicas: um estudo correlacional

As universidades públicas brasileiras utilizam, além dos vestibulares, os resultados em Olimpíadas Científicas para a seleção de ingressantes. Tais estudantes, apesar do desempenho de destaque em avaliações específicas, enfrentam desafios na adaptação ao ensino superior, resultantes de interações entre aspectos sociais, institucionais, pessoais, com implicações no sucesso acadêmico. Os objetivos deste estudo são analisar as diferenças na adaptação ao ES e na autoeficácia em função do background escolar e relacionar a adaptação e as crenças de autoeficácia de medalhistas em Olimpíadas Científicas que ingressaram no ensino superior durante a pandemia de Covid-19. Participaram do estudo 41 universitários que foram admitidos nos anos de 2020 e 2021 por meio de processo seletivo para Medalhistas. Desses, 80.5% são homens e 48.8% são egressos da rede pública de ensino. Os voluntários responderam o Questionário de Adaptação ao Ensino Superior e a Escala de Autoeficácia na Formação Superior, sendo os dados analisados pela estatística inferencial. Dos resultados destaca-se que os egressos da educação pública descrevem níveis mais baixos na adaptação ao estudo. Houve correlações positivas e que variaram de fracas a moderadas entre adaptação ao ES e autoeficácia. Os achados reforçam a relação conceitual entre os construtos e sugerem que a promoção do sucesso acadêmico enfatize as variáveis psicológicas e os suportes financeiro e acadêmicos aos ingressantes medalhistas.