Chinese International Undergraduate Students’ English Language Ability,Advice From Domestic and International Friends,and Psychosocial Adjustment to College

Abstract

This study explores how advice from friends predicts Chinese international students’ college adjustment. First-year international Chinese (N = 95) undergraduates reported on their English language ability (ELA), advice seeking and evaluation with domestic and international friends, and psychosocial adjustment. Chinese students with lower self-reported ELA sought advice from their closest domestic friend less often, perceived advice from that friend as lower in quality, and were less psychosocially adjusted. Advice processes partially mediated the association between ELA and psychosocial adjustment.

Keywords

advice social support Chinese international students English language ability psychosocial adjustment

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Birney

M. E.

Rabinovich

Morton

T. A.

Heath

Ashcroft

(2020). When speaking English is not enough: The consequences of language-based stigma for non-native speakers. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 39, 67-86.

Bodie

G. D.

MacGeorge

E. L.

(2015). Supportive communication theories: Dual-process theory of supportive message outcomes and advice response theory. In Braithwaite

D. O.

Schrodt

(Eds.), Engaging theories in interpersonal communication: Multiple perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 129-141). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

Brunsting

N. C.

Zachry

Takeuchi

(2018). Predictors of undergraduate international student psychosocial adjustment to U.S. universities: A systematic review from 2009-2018. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 66, 22-33. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2018.06.002

Chen

C. P.

(1999). Common stressors among international college students: Research and counseling implications. Journal of College Counseling, 2, 49-65. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1882.1999.tb00142.x

Chentsova-Dutton

Y. E.

(2012). Butting in vs. being a friend: Cultural differences and similarities in the evaluation of imposed social support. Journal of Social Psychology, 152, 493-509. doi:10.1080/00224545.2011.642025

Davies

Tropp

L. R.

Aron

Pettigrew

T. R.

Wright

S. C.

(2011). Cross-group friendships and intergroup attitudes: A meta-analytic review. Personality & Social Psychology Review, 15, 332-351. doi:10.1177/1088868311411103

Dragojevic

Giles

Beck

Tatum

(2017). The fluency principle: Why foreign accent strength negatively biases language attitude. Communication Monographs, 84, 385-405. doi:10.1080/03637751.2017.1322213

Feng

(2013). Examining cultural similarities and differences in responses to advice: A comparison of American and Chinese college students. Communication Research, 40, 623-644. doi:10.1177/0093650211433826

Glass

C. R.

Buus

Braskamp

L. A.

(2013). Uneven experiences: What’s missing and what matters for today’s international students. Chicago, IL: Global Perspective Institute.

10.

Goldsmith

D. J.

(2004). Communicating social support. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

11.

Hayes

A. F.

(2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

12.

Hirai

Frazier

Syed

(2015). Psychological and sociocultural adjustment of first-year international students: Trajectories of predictors. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 62, 438-452. doi:10.1037/cou0000085

13.

Hurtado

Carter

D. F.

(1997). Effects of college transition and perceptions of the campus racial climate on Latino college students’ sense of belonging. Sociology of Education, 70, 324-345. doi:10.2307/2673270

14.

Institute of International Education. (2018). Open Doors 2018: Report on international education. Retrieved from https://www.iie.org/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors/Open-Doors-2018-Media-Information

15.

Lee

J. J.

Rice

(2007). Welcome to America? International student perceptions of discrimination. Higher Education, 53, 381-409. doi:10.1007/s10734-005-4508-3

16.

Sepanski

Zhao

(2006). Language history questionnaire: A web-based interface for bilingual research. Behavior Research Methods, 38, 202-210. doi:10.3758/BF03192770

17.

MacGeorge

E. L.

Feng

Butler

G. L.

Budarz

S. K.

(2004). Understanding advice in supportive interactions. Human Communication Research, 30, 42-70. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2004.tb00724.x

18.

MacGeorge

E. L.

Guntzviller

L. M.

Hanasono

L. K.

Feng

(2016). Testing advice response theory in interactions with friends. Communication Research, 43, 211-231. doi:10.1177/0093650213510938

19.

MacGeorge

E. L.

Samter

Gillihan

S. J.

(2006). Academic stress, supportive communication, and health. Communication Education, 54, 365-372. doi:10.1080/03634520500442236

20.

Russell

Peplau

L. A.

Cutrona

C. E.

(1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472-480. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.39.3.472

21.

Wang

C. C.

Mallinckrodt

(2006). Acculturation, attachment, and psychosocial adjustment of Chinese/Taiwanese international students. Journal of Counselling Psychology, 53, 422-433. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.53.4.422

22.

Wang

K. T.

Wei

Chen

H. H.

(2015). Social factors in cross-national adjustment: Subjective well-being trajectories among Chinese international students. The Counselling Psychologist, 43, 272-298. doi:10.1177/0011000014566470

23.

Waring

H. Z.

Song

(2018). Advice in education. In MacGeorge

E. L.

Van Swol

L. M.

(Eds.), The Oxford handbook of advice (pp. 217-235). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

24.

Wilson

S. R.

Aleman

C. G.

Leatham

G. B.

(1998). Identity implications of influence goals: A revised analysis of face-threatening acts and application to seeking compliance with same-sex friends. Human Communication Research, 25, 64-96. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.1998.tb00437.x

25.

(2006). Traditional and online support networks in the cross-cultural adaptation of Chinese international students in the United States. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11, 863-876. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00039.x

26.

Zhang

Goodson

(2011). Predictors of international students’ psychosocial adjustment to life in the United States: A systematic review. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35, 139-162. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2010.11.011

27.

Zigmond

A. S.

Snaith

R. P.

(1983). The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 67, 361-370. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.1983.tb09716.x