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An exploration of Chinese international students' social self-efficacies

Lin, Shu-Ping
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1154973203

Abstract Details

2006, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Despite a growing literature regarding both the social self-efficacy and the cross-cultural adjustment of international students, an integration of research in these two areas is still not yet well developed. Given concern over this lack of integration and interest in understanding the nature of the adjustment process of international students, this present study endeavored to explore the role of social self-efficacy in the process of cross-cultural adjustment for Chinese international students. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study is to seek to examine whether there is a discrepancy in the levels of social self-efficacy in different language settings for Chinese international students. Also, the relationships between social self-efficacy in different language settings and other constructs, such as acculturation stress, global self-esteem, and English proficiency, would be examined. Other hypotheses examining the predicting relationships between these variables would be discussed in this study as well for applications in intervening. The sample of participants consisted of 203 Chinese international students who were mainly recruited from the Ohio State University. There were four measures administered in this study: the scale of Perceived Social Self-Efficacy, the Unconditional Self-Regard Scale, the Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students, and a Demographic Questionnaire, which contained three questions regarding English proficiency. Several important findings have been evident in this study. First, Chinese international students reported different levels of social self-efficacy in different language settings. That is, they perceived a significantly higher social self-efficacy in Chinese interactional setting than in English setting. Secondly, English social self-efficacy is the major resource in influencing international students’ adjustment outcomes. That is, a higher level of social self-efficacy will predict a lower level of acculturation stress. Third, both the cognitive (social self-esteem) and affective (global self-esteem) parts of an individual contribute to the psychological adjustment outcomes, such as acculturation stress, in an essential fashion. Finally, variables like English proficiency and the length of residency in the USA have indirect influence on acculturation stress through social self-efficacy. That is, social self-efficacy is the mediator for the predicted relationships.
Nancy Betz (Advisor)
99 p.
social self-efficacy; acculturation stress; cross-cultural adjustment; English proficiency; international students; Chinese international students; self-esteem

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lin, S.-P. (2006). An exploration of Chinese international students' social self-efficacies [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1154973203

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lin, Shu-Ping. An exploration of Chinese international students' social self-efficacies. 2006. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1154973203.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lin, Shu-Ping. "An exploration of Chinese international students' social self-efficacies." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1154973203

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.