Aspects of acculturation stress among international students attending a university in the USA

Abstract

Acculturation stress reported by 130 international students attending a university in Utah for about 2 yr. was examined. On the Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students, few students reported experiencing acculturation stress, but responses to four open-ended questions indicated many students perceived experience of acculturation stresses related to discrimination, feelings of loneliness, and academic concerns. The contrast of findings for the scale scores and the open-ended questions indicate the complexity of assessing international students' acculturation experiences of living and studying in the USA and suggest the usefulness of complementary methodologies for assessing such experience.