A Comparison of First-Year International Students' Adjustment to College at the Undergraduate and Graduate Level
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v13i2.2584Keywords:
acculturative stress, college adjustment, international students, relational skills, resilienceAbstract
Predictors of first-year undergraduate and graduate international students’ adjustment to college were examined using an online survey in 2019. The research sample consisted of 95 international students attending two universities in the United States. Findings showed a statistically significant difference between first-year graduate and undergraduate international students, as related to college adjustment. Further analysis discovered significant relationships among the predictor variables - resilience, relational skills, acculturative stress - and the criterion variable, which is adjustment to college, explaining 55% of the variance. Implications of findings for educators, college counselors, and college administrators, are provided, as well as directions for future research.
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