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International Journal of Intercultural Relations 29 (2005) 561576 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijintrel

Predicting Asian international students sociocultural adjustment: A test of two mediation models
Andrew Li, Michael B. Gasser
Department of Psychology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, USA

Abstract Integrating a number of theoretical perspectives, this paper examined predictors of Asian international students sociocultural adjustment. A total of 117 students (aged 1846 years) from 17 Asian countries and regions completed questionnaires about their sociocultural adjustment, contact with the hosts, ethnic identity, and cross-cultural self-efcacy. As hypothesized, contact with the hosts partially mediated the effect of cross-cultural self-efcacy on sociocultural adjustment. The hypothesis that contact with the hosts would mediate the effect of ethnic identity on sociocultural adjustment was not supported. r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Sociocultural adjustment; Ethnic identity; Self-efcacy; Cross-cultural contact

1. Introduction International mobility has become the hallmark of the 21st century as the world increasingly becomes a global village. Riding this trend of globalization, a growing number of international students have crossed their national boundaries to seek educational experiences in other cultures (Hechanova-Alampay, Beehr, ChristianCorresponding author. Department of Management and Policy, Eller College of Management, P.O. Box 210108, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0108, USA. E-mail address: liandrew@email.arizona.edu (A. Li).

0147-1767/$ - see front matter r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.06.003

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sen, & Van-Horn, 2002; Lin & Yi, 1997; Sam, 2001). In the United States, the number of international students attending higher education has increased dramatically since the end of World War II. According to the 20002001 Open Doors Annual Report (2001), the total enrollment of international students has already exceeded 540,000, accounting for 3.9% of the total college student population. Adjusting to a new culture can be a challenging and stressful experience. Rigorous academic demands along with the challenges to adjust to a new culture may put international students at a greater risk than students in general. Recently, the adjustment difculties experienced by international students have received increasing scholarly attention (Anderson & Myer, 1985; Hayes & Lin, 1994). In a comprehensive review of sojourners research, Church (1982) suggested that in addition to problems similar to what domestic students may have, international students also experience difculties that are elicited by the new cultural experiences. Surveys of international student adjustment in the new culture have indicated that they expressed apprehension in their language prociency and academic performance during their sojourns (Hayes & Lin, 1994; Kagan & Cohen, 1990; Ying & Liese, 1994). In addition, international students also reported feeling depressed, anxious, and lonely due to the loss of their social support network (Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994; Yang & Clum, 1995). In light of the adjustment difculties reported by international student sojourners, researchers have attempted to investigate the nature of their adjustment and variables that predict their effective adjustment. One recent development in these efforts is the psychological and sociocultural adjustment model (Searle & Ward, 1990). According to this model, sojourners adjustment can be conceptualized as two distinctive, but intertwining, dimensions: psychological adjustment and sociocultural adjustment. Psychological adjustment denotes the feelings of well-being and satisfaction and sociocultural adjustment denotes the ability to t in and to negotiate interactive aspects of the new culture (Searle & Ward, 1990, p. 450). Although these two dimensions are closely related, they should be understood in different theoretical frameworks. Psychological adjustment is best understood within a stress and coping framework. Based on this framework, psychological adjustment is best predicted by personality factors, amount of social support, contact with fellow nationals and hosts, life changes, and attitudes towards the hosts. Sociocultural adjustment, however, is understood based on the social learning model (Befus, 1988; Furnham & Bochner, 1982). According to the social learning model, sociocultural adjustment is inuenced by cross-cultural contact, cultural distance, cross-cultural training, previous cross-cultural experiences, and length of residence in the new culture. The psychological and sociocultural adjustment model (Searle & Ward, 1990) has received support in a number of empirical studies (Ward & Chang, 1997; Ward & Kennedy, 1992, 1993a,b, 1994, 1999, 2001; Ward, Okura, Kennedy, & Kojima, 1998). In the present study, we examined factors that inuenced international students sociocultural adjustment. Furnham and Bochner (1986) suggested that social adjustment entails the abilities of expressing attitude, feelings, and emotion,

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adopting the appropriate proxemic posture, understanding the gaze patterns of the people they are interacting with, carrying out ritualized routines such as greetings, leave taking, self-disclosure, making or refusing requests, and asserting themselves (pp. 1415). Sojourners who are socioculturally adjusted are well prepared to cope with the challenges in their cross-cultural experiences and to attain the goals of their sojourn. Searle and Ward (1990) suggest that the process of adjusting to a new culture socially and culturally entails learning and applying new cultural knowledge; therefore, a comprehensive model of sociocultural adjustment should be cast in a social learning-social cognition framework wherein variables that enhance cultural learning, promote behavioral and social competency, and facilitate a cross-cultural perspective should be included. Based on a social learning-social cognition framework, we propose that sojourners ethnic identity, cross-cultural self-efcacy, and contact with the hosts are important variables related to sociocultural adjustment. As proposed by Tajfel (1978), and Tajfel and Turner (1986) in their discussion of social identity theory, people who are more strongly identied with their in-group are less likely to initiate and maintain interaction with members of the out-group. In the context of international students in the US, this suggests that students who hold a greater sense of ethnic identity will be less likely to interact with the host country nationals. This reduced contact may hamper their sociocultural adjustment. Similarly, Banduras (1986, 1992, 1997) social learning theory places great importance on self-efcacy as an antecedent of many human behaviors. In the context of international students in the US, students with greater cross-cultural self-efcacy should be more comfortable and more likely to engage in contact with the host-culture nationals, thus enhancing their sociocultural adjustment (Fan & Mak, 1998). Central to the relationship between these antecedents and sociocultural adjustment is the amount of contact with the hosts. As noted by Church (1982), numerous studies have attested to the importance of contact in improving cross-cultural adjustment. Given the central focus of contact with the hosts in the conceptualization of sociocultural adjustment, international students who have more host contact should experience better adjustment. Contact with the hosts, ethnic identity, and cross-cultural self-efcacy will be discussed in more details in the next section. In addition, we develop two mediation models that integrate these variables. The proposed models posit that contact with the hosts mediates the effects of two independent variables (i.e., ethnic identity and cross-cultural self-efcacy) on international students sociocultural adjustment.

2. Antecedents of sociocultural adjustment 2.1. Cross-cultural contact One of the most robust ndings in the cross-cultural adjustment literature is that positive contact between sojourners and host nationals is critical to their effective adjustment in the new culture (Church, 1982). The theoretical underpinnings of these

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ndings were based on the contact hypothesis typically examined in the inter-group relation literatures. According to the contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954; Amir, 1969), contact among different social groups may enhance mutual understanding and reduce inter-group stereotypes and discriminations. Amir (1969) posited that by having an opportunity to know the views and beliefs held by the out-group members, in-group members are able to appreciate and understand their way of life. Intergroup contact may also improve cross-group perspective taking and promote a positive re-evaluation of the out-group (Pettigrew, 1997). This theoretical perspective obviously applies to the cross-cultural context. Stening (1979) argued that intercultural relations are usually stained by stereotypes, prejudices, and ethnocentric perspective of the parties involved. In order to remove these barriers to healthy intercultural communication, it is important that individuals from one culture have rst-hand experiences about others from another culture. Intercultural interaction affords the opportunities for sojourners to reevaluate their erroneous views of others from a different cultural background and identify the similarities of belief and values that are believed to increase attraction and liking (Masson & Verkuyten, 1993). In addition, sojourners social interactions with the hosts may enable them to gain cultural knowledge, establish a local support network, and increase their language prociency (Church, 1982; Toyokawa & Toyokawa, 2002). Although a causal linkage cannot be inferred, the positive effects derived from contact with host nationals upon sojourners sociocultural adjustment have been documented in several correlation studies. Selltiz and Cook (1962) found that international students who have close host friends expressed more positive feelings towards Americans and were better adjusted than their peers who did not have crosscultural contact. Similarly, Sewell and Davidson (1956) found that international students from Scandinavian countries who engaged in social interactions with the hosts were less likely to express frustrations, more likely to improve their English speaking capacities, and report overall satisfactions with their sojourns than those without such host contact. Using a longitudinal design, Ying and Liese (1994) found that international students from Taiwan who interacted with Americans reported better adjustment relative to those who simply formed their social networks among co-nationals. Given these ndings, we expect that cross-cultural contact will be a predictor of sociocultural adjustment. 2.2. Ethnic identity Church (1982) suggested that sojourners often have to cope with their membership conicts between trying to maintain cultural ties with their ethnic groups and behaving in a way that is consistent with the host cultures expectations. Much of the research on membership conicts has been conducted within the framework of social identity theory (Tajfel, 1978; Tajfel & Turner, 1986). According to social identity theory, individuals strive to maintain positive self-esteem that is derived from their group membership. As a result, individuals are motivated to see their in-group members in the most favorable light to maintain positive self-esteem. The motivation

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to maintain positive self-esteem and social identity also leads them to favor in-group members in comparisons between groups. Based on social identity theory, sojourners ethnic identity (a self-concept derived from the ethnic membership that one belongs to) may predict their willingness to engage in contact with members from other ethnic groups, including the hosts (Piontkowski, Florack, Hoelker, & Obdrzalek, 2000). Those individuals who have a strong ethnic identity may be more likely to distance themselves from the out-group members in order to preserve their group distinctiveness conducive for group comparisons. Moreover, individuals who are strongly identied with their ethnic group may be more likely to experience threats from the out-group than those who are indifferent to their group memberships, thus inuencing their willingness to engage in cross-cultural contact (Stephan, Stephan, & Gudykunst, 1999). In a study of Dutch adolescents attitudes towards ethnic minorities (Masson & Verkuyten, 1993), it was found that ethnic identity was strongly related to in-group preference; whereas contact with minorities was signicantly associated with less prejudice towards minorities and in-group preference. Moreover, ethnic identity was negatively related to the amount of contact between Dutch adolescents and minorities. Sojourners ethnic identity is also related to their sociocultural adjustment. The four acculturation strategies model proposed by Berry and colleagues (Berry & Annis, 1974; Berry, Kim, Power, Young, & Bujaki, 1989) provides a useful theoretical framework to understand the relation between sojourners ethnic identity and their sociocultural adjustment. Simply put, the model posited that sojourners acculturation attitudes revolve around two dimensions: (a) maintaining their ethnic identity and (b) maintaining ties with host nationals and act in the local way. A taxonomy of four acculturation strategies was developed based on these two dimensions: separation, integration, assimilation, and marginalization. Individuals who employ the separation strategy maintain their original ethnic identity and avoid cross-cultural contact. Individuals who employ the integration strategy try to achieve a balance between maintaining their ethnic identity and establishing contact with the hosts. Individuals who take an assimilation approach sever ties with the original culture and adopt the lifestyle of the new culture. Lastly, marginalization is characteristic of individuals who lose ties with both their original culture and the new culture. Scores of studies have been conducted to investigate the differentiating effects of the four strategies on cross-cultural adjustment (e.g., Ward & Kennedy, 1994; Ward & Rana-Deuba, 1999). Generally, empirical research has demonstrated that sojourners social adjustment is facilitated by a stronger association with the host culture and a dissociation with their own ethnic community (Fugita & OBrien, 1985; Yao, 1985). Sojourners who are identied with the host culture may establish their local network, receive social support from the locals, and learn the local cultures. Eshel and Rosenthal-Sokolov (2000) examined the acculturation attitudes of Russian students in Israel and their sociocultural adjustment. Their study demonstrated that successful sociocultural adjustment entailed the relinquishment of the values and behaviors of their ethnic culture and the adoption of an identity

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that conformed to the expectations of the new culture. Similarly, Ward and RanaDeubas (1999) investigation of acculturation strategies of foreign students in Nepal showed that stronger identication with the hosts was associated with less social difculties such as fullling social functions and understanding local languages. All of these studies suggest that ethnic identity should be negatively related to crosscultural contact and sociocultural adjustment. 2.3. Cross-cultural self-efcacy Empirical research has also found that cross-cultural contact is related to sojourners cross-cultural self-efcacy (Black & Gregersen, 1991; Harrison, Chadwick, & Scales, 1996). Self-efcacy is the belief that one can perform certain social functions to produce a desirable outcome (Bandura, 1986, 1992, 1997). Self-efcacy is especially important in the cross-cultural interactions. Church (1982) suggested that there are many barriers to effective interactions between sojourners and host nationals, such as verbal and non-verbal language, cultural ignorance, and fear of rejection, which renders cross-cultural interactions more distressing and anxietyprovoking than within-culture interactions. As a result, sojourners may attempt to cope with their social anxiety by avoiding contact with the hosts (Fan & Mak, 1998). Fan and Mak (1998) contended that inhibitions of cross-cultural contact are a sign of low social self-efcacy. In the cross-cultural context, high self-efcacy denotes a positive evaluation that one can successfully perform certain social functions in another culture and achieve desirable outcomes. Bandura (1986, 1992, 1997), in his social cognitive theory, posited that self-efcacy inuences human behavior through four processes: cognitive, affective, motivational, and selection. Taken into crosscultural contexts, social cognitive theory predicts that individuals high in crosscultural self-efcacy may be more likely to foresee successes in cross-cultural contact and anticipate positive experiences than their less efcacious peers (cognitive process). Similarly, individuals with high cross-cultural self-efcacy may be less anxiety stricken than those with low self-efcacy in cross-cultural interactions (affective process). Moreover, cross-culturally self-efcacious individuals may be more motivated to engage in cross-cultural contact and to reap the ensuing benets (motivational process). In addition, individuals with high cross-cultural self-efcacy may choose to engage in contact with the hosts even though cross-cultural communication places a premium on cultural knowledge, language, and tolerance for ambiguities (selection process). Self-efcacy for cross-cultural interactions has also been found to be related to sojourners sociocultural adjustment. Tsang (2001) suggested that self-efcacious individuals may be more actively seeking new cultural experiences. As a result, they may receive constant feedback regarding their novel behavior, which enhances their cultural knowledge and reduces uncertainties in future cross-cultural interactions. Consistent with this contention, Harrison et al. (1996) found that more crossculturally self-efcacious American expatriates reported better adjustment in Europe compared with their less self-efcacious peers. Similarly, using a longitudinal design, Hechanova-Alampay et al. (2002) found that international students self-efcacy was

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signicantly related to their adjustment in the new culture, such that students high in cross-cultural self-efcacy reported better adjustment and less strains than those low in self-efcacy. The ndings of these studies suggest that self-efcacy should be positively related to cross-cultural contact and sociocultural adjustment.

3. The present study In the present study, we examined the relationships between international students contact with host nationals, their ethnic identity, cross-cultural selfefcacy, and their sociocultural adjustment. Consistent with the foregoing discussion, it is hypothesized that international students contact with host nationals is positively related to their sociocultural adjustment (H1). It is also hypothesized that their ethnic identity is negatively related to their contact with host nationals (H2a) and sociocultural adjustment (H2b). We also hypothesize that their crosscultural self-efcacy is positively related to their contact with host nationals (H3a) and sociocultural adjustment (H3b). Based on these hypotheses, we also examined two mediation models. Model one posits that the effect of international students ethnic identity on their sociocultural adjustment is mediated by their contact with host nationals. Model two posits that the effect of international students cross-cultural self-efcacy on their sociocultural adjustment is mediated by their contact with host nationals. To examine these two mediation models, we determine whether the effects of the predictors (ethnic identity and cross-cultural self-efcacy) on sociocultural adjustment are weakened or become non-signicant when host contact is held constant (Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2003). A non-signicant relation between the predictor and the criterion when the mediator is held constant signals a fully mediated model, whereas a weakened but still signicant relation indicates a partially mediated model. The present study focused on international students from Asian countries. Previous research has suggested that although most international students encounter difculties during their adjustment processes, these problems appear to be most acute among students from Asian countries (Abe, Talbot, & Geelhoed, 1998; Heikinheimo & Shute, 1986; Henderson, Milhouse, & Cao, 1993). Due to signicant disparities in language, culture, and communication styles between most Asian countries and America, Asian students appear to experience more difculties than students from other parts of the world (Toyokawa & Toyokawa, 2002). Surveys of Asian international students indicated that they experience considerable difculties in language, academic performance, and social interactions in their sojourns (Schram & Lauver, 1988; Yang, Teraoka, Eicheneld, & Audas, 1994). Given the size of the Asian international student population in the United States (Asian international students accounted for over 55% of the total international student population), it is somewhat surprising that little research effort has been devoted to their adjustment concerns (Yang & Clum, 1995). Therefore, an important purpose of the present study is to examine their sociocultural adjustment process and variables that contribute to their effective adjustment.

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4. Method 4.1. Participants A total of 117 Asian international students from two state universities in the mid western region voluntarily participated in the present study. The participants were recruited through a variety of networking sources. The participants were from 17 countries and regions in Asia. The majority of the students were female (N 72), single (N 81), and graduate students (N 67). The average age was 26.29 years (SD 5:54) and their average length of stay in the United States was 25.92 months (SD 27:97). Participants reported an average TOEFL score of 578 (SD 48:48). 4.2. Measurements All participants completed a demographic questionnaire and measures of their sociocultural adjustment, cross-cultural self-efcacy, their contact with the hosts, and ethnic identity. Sociocultural adjustment. A 29-item sociocultural adjustment scale (SCAS) developed by Ward and Kennedy (1999) was used in the present study. The scale measured the degree to which participants perceived difculties in understanding the local values and cultures, interacting with the hosts, meeting the demands of daily life, and behaving in a culturally appropriate manner. Sample items included Understanding American jokes and humor, and Adapting to the local norms of behavior. Respondents used a 4-point likert scale ranging from extreme difculty (1) to no difculty (4). High scores obtained in this measure indicated fewer difculties in social activities and better sociocultural adjustment. The a in the present study was .87. Ethnic identity. Ethnic identity was assessed using the 19-item multi-group ethnic identity scale developed by Phinney (1992). This scale measured individuals perceived ethnic identication, sense of belonging to their ethnic group, attitudes towards their ethnic group, and levels of involvement in ethnic activities. Sample items included I am happy that I am a member of my ethnic group, and I have a lot of pride in my ethnic group and its accomplishments. Respondents used a 4point likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4). High scores obtained in this measure indicated strong ethnic identication. The a in the present study was .76. Contact with host nationals. Contact with host nationals was measured with the 10item inter-group contacts scale developed by Islam and Hewstone (1993). Participants responded to items enquiring about their perceived quantity and quality of contact with Americans. Sample items included Since you arrived in the United States, how much contact have you had with the Americans, and Would you consider your contact with the Americans as generally being pleasant. Respondents used a 5-point likert scale. High scores indicated more frequent and positive contact with Americans. The a in the present study was .91.

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Cross-cultural self-efcacy. Self-efcacy was assessed using a revised 17-item scale developed by Fan and Mak (1998). The scale is comprised of four subscales, including social difculties, social condence, sharing interests with others, and willingness to take initiatives to establish friendships. Sample items included Be proactive in social situations, and Initiate friendships with the locals. Items were rated on a 4-point likert scale ranging from not condent (1) to very condent (4). High scores signalled more condence in social functions. The a in the present study was .95.

5. Results 5.1. Descriptive statistics The means, standard deviations, and correlations for the dependent variables are shown in Table 1. Reliabilities obtained in this study are also reported for all scales with multiple items. A multivariate analysis did not nd signicant differences in the mean level of their sociocultural adjustment, cross-cultural self-efcacy, and ethnic identity as a function of gender and academic level (graduate vs. undergraduate). Asian students who were single reported more identied with their ethnic group than their married peers. 5.2. Test of hypotheses Hypothesis H1 posited that Asian international students cross-cultural contact with their hosts is positively related to their sociocultural adjustment. This hypothesis was supported. Asian students contact with their hosts was signicantly correlated with their sociocultural adjustment (r :61, p :01). Hypothesis H2a stated that Asian international students ethnic identity is negatively related to contact with their hosts. This hypothesis was also supported in the present study. Asian students ethnic identity was signicantly correlated with their contact with their hosts (r :19, p :05). Hypothesis H2b predicted that
Table 1 Means, standard deviation, reliabilities, and correlations among measured variables M 1. 2. 3. 4. Self-efcacy Sociocultural adjustment Ethnic identity Contact 2.88 3.14 2.64 3.67 SD .67 .50 .37 .81 1 (.95) .69** .10 .73** 2 3 4

(.87) .04 .61**

(.76) .19*

(.91)

N 117. Note. Po:05; Po:01. Coefcient alpha reliabilities are presented on the diagonal.

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Asian international students ethnic identity is negatively related to their sociocultural adjustment. This hypothesis was not supported in this study. Asian students ethnic identity was not signicantly correlated with their sociocultural adjustment (r :04, ns). Since ethnic identity was not signicantly related to the sociocultural adjustment, the rst mediation model, which posited that the effects of ethnic identity on Asian international students sociocultural adjustment would be mediated by their contact with host nationals, was not supported. Hypothesis H3a stated that Asian international students self-efcacy is positively related to contact with their hosts. This hypothesis was supported. Asian students contact with their hosts was signicantly correlated with cross-cultural self-efcacy (r :73, p :01). Hypothesis H3b posited that Asian international students cross-cultural self-efcacy is positively related to their sociocultural adjustment. This hypothesis was also supported. Asian students cross-cultural self-efcacy was signicantly correlated with sociocultural adjustment (r :69, p :01). 5.3. Test of the mediation model We followed Baron and Kennys procedure (1986) in testing the second mediation model (for cross-cultural self-efcacy). Specically, in the rst step, the predictor should be signicantly related to the mediator. In the second and third steps, both the predictor and the mediator should be signicantly related to the outcome variable. In the nal step, the effects of the predictor on the outcome variable should be attenuated when the mediator is controlled. In the second model, we hypothesized that Asian international students contact with host nationals would mediate the effect of their cross-cultural self-efcacy on sociocultural adjustment. Contact with the hosts was a signicant predictor of sociocultural adjustment. Cross-cultural self-efcacy was also a signicant predictor of sociocultural adjustment. After partialling out the effect of contact with host nationals, cross-cultural self-efcacy was still a signicant predictor of sociocultural adjustment, but the effect was attenuated, which indicated that the effect of crosscultural self-efcacy on sociocultural adjustment was partially mediated by contact with the hosts (See Fig. 1).

.73** Cross-Cultural Self-Efficacy Host Contact

.61**

Sociocultural Adjustment

.69**/.52**

Fig. 1. Contact with the hosts as a mediator in the relationship between cross-cultural self-efcacy and sociocultural adjustment. Note. po:05. po:01. The beta after the slash is the effect of cross-cultural self-efcacy controlling for the effect of contact with the hosts.

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6. Discussion The present study made two contributions to the cross-cultural adjustment literature. First, this study examined Asian international students sociocultural adjustment and the factors that inuenced their adjustment. The ndings from this study indicated that contact with the hosts and cross-cultural self-efcacy were both related to Asian students successful sociocultural adjustment. Second, by integrating a number of theoretical perspectives, the current study formulated and examined two mediation models in the Asian student sample. The study suggested that Asian students contact with the hosts partially mediated the relationship between their cross-cultural self-efcacy and their sociocultural adjustment. In the present study, we examined two mediation models. The rst mediation model predicted that contact with host nationals would mediate the relationship between ethnic identity and sociocultural adjustment. As predicted by Hypothesis H1, Asian students contact with host nationals facilitated their sociocultural adjustment process. Consistent with previous research (Church, 1982), the increased amount of contact with the hosts may have enabled them to develop local networks, understand the local cultures, and acquire social skills necessary for the effective adjustment to the new culture. The present study also supported Hypothesis H2a that ethnic identity was negatively correlated with contact with host nationals. Piontkowski (Piontkowski et al., 2000) argued that individuals who are strongly identied with their own ethnic group may be more likely to use their own culture for self-denition and avoid contact with other ethnic groups. The present study replicated this nding and indicated that Asian students who were more identied with their own ethnic group may be reluctant to engage in contact with the hosts. This argument, however, was somewhat tempered by the weak (though still signicant) correlation between the two variables. The lack of a signicant relation between ethnic identity and sociocultural adjustment was not altogether surprising. Berry (1984) argued that identifying with the host culture does not entail the relinquishment of ones original cultural identity. Individuals may maintain their own cultural identity while establishing meaningful relationships with their hosts. In support of this argument, recent research has found that co-national identication is independent from host identication and both identities may co-exist harmoniously in one individual (Leong & Ward, 2000). Moreover, the two dimensions of identity were related to different adjustment outcomes, with co-national identity related to psychological adjustment and host identity related to sociocultural adjustment (Ward & Kennedy, 1994). In view of these ndings, it is possible that the current sample of Asian students may have maintained a congruent co-national and host identication and their ethnic identity did not interfere with their sociocultural adjustment. Alternatively, Church (1982) suggested that sojourners may benet from close ties with their co-nationals who may provide social and emotional support during the adjustment process. Therefore, it is possible that Asian students in the present study received social support from their ethnic network that protected them from social and cultural difculties during

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their adjustment process. Future research should further examine this possibility among Asian students. The second mediation model predicted that contact with host nationals would mediate the relationship between cross-cultural self-efcacy and sociocultural adjustment. As predicted by Hypothesis H3a, Asian students cross-cultural selfefcacy was related to contact with the hosts, which in turn resulted in better adjustment (Hypothesis H3b). Contact with the hosts was found to partially mediate the effect of cross-cultural self-efcacy on sociocultural adjustment. Bandura (1986, 1992, 1997) contended that self-efcacy inuences individuals decision to initiate an action, their determination to persist even in the face of difculties, and the amount of effort they expend towards the completion of a task. Self-efcacy is especially important in cross-cultural interactions that are more stressful and entail more uncertainties than within-culture communication. In support of this argument, Mak and Tran (2001) found that immigrant students in Australia who had higher crosscultural self-efcacy reported better adjustment. In the current study, Asian students who were more self-efcacious were more likely to report initiating and maintaining extensive contact with the hosts; as a result, they were more likely to experience better sociocultural adjustment compared with those who were less efcacious. These ndings were analogous to previous research (Mak & Tran, 2001) and further provided support to the pivotal role of cross-cultural self-efcacy in Asian international students sociocultural adjustment process. The results of the present study have some practical implications for educational practices. Asian students cross-cultural self-efcacy was found to be signicantly related to their contact with the hosts and sociocultural adjustment. Bandura (1986, 1997) suggested that self-efcacy can be enhanced in four ways: master experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion, and physiological arousal. Mak and Tran (2001) suggested that the four sources could be incorporated into cross-cultural trainings and interventions. Specically, Asian international students cross-cultural self-efcacy can be enhanced through actively engaging in controlled cross-cultural social interactions, watching peer performance in social contexts, soliciting feedback and encouragement for their own performance, and focusing on their own performance instead of their emotional arousal in social interactions. These theoretically grounded interventions may be instrumental in building Asian students cross-cultural self-efcacy in social interactions and enhancing their sociocultural adjustment. A signicant relationship between Asian students identication with their ethnic groups and their sociocultural adjustment was not found in the present study. Indeed, their ethnic identication may insulate them from some difculties in the adjustment process (Church, 1982). Likewise, previous studies have also indicated that newcomers to a culture adjust better with co-national support (Church, 1982). In this perspective, intervention programs that advocate Asian students dissociation with their ethnic communities may not achieve the desired effect. These implications should be taken cautiously in light of the limitations of this study. In discussing the limitations, we also suggest useful directions for future investigations. First, although our study, like others, treated Asian students as one

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group, there is evidence showing that there is appreciably great within-group variability among Asian students. Although Asian countries are geographically adjacent, they are culturally heterogeneous. For example, in Hofstedes values survey (1980), Singapore and Japan were in the opposite poles of masculinity. Future research should attempt to replicate the ndings from the present study in specic countries in Asia. Second, common method variance may be a relevant issue in the present study and most survey studies. Our ndings were completely based on students self-reports. Future research should include data from other sources in addition to the participants. For example, participants spouses or friends may rate their observed adjustment of the participants in addition to self-reports. Third, we were not able to infer causality among the variables in the present study because of the cross-sectional design. It is recommended that a longitudinal design be employed in place of a cross-sectional design in future research. Longitudinal designs allow researchers to further explore causality and to investigate the unfolding effects of the variables on Asian international students adjustment at different phases of their sojourns in the new culture.

7. Conclusion In conclusion, the present study investigated Asian international students sociocultural adjustment and factors that inuenced their adjustment process. We suggest that Asian international students adjustment is a dynamic process that is inuenced by a host of factors. Results from this study underscore the critical roles of host contact and cross-cultural self-efcacy in their adjustment process. This study adds to the understanding of Asian students adjustment processes and offers many avenues for future investigations.

Acknowledgements Both authors contributed equally to the completion of this manuscript. This paper is based on the rst authors masters thesis under the supervision of the second author. We thank Andrew Gilpin and Melvin Gonnerman for serving in the thesis committee and providing invaluable comments. This study is partly supported by a research grant from the College of Social & Behavioral Science, University of Northern Iowa. References
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