Acculturative stress and its association with academic stress and psychological well-being of international students

The current study explored acculturative stress and its association with academic stress and psychological well-being (including distress symptoms and positive affect) among international students in Germany. It was also examined whether various socio-demographic variables and the preferred coping styles predict the stress level regarding acculturation and academic affairs. Native students were also included in the sample to make a comparison between the two groups with reference to the selected variables of interest. The participants consisted of 652 international and 562 German students who were mainly recruited with the support of offices of student"s affairs of universities all over the country. They completed an online survey comprising of Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS), Student Stress Inventory (SSI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Major Depression Inventory (MDI), Pennebaker Inventory for Limbic Languidness (PILL), WHO-Five Well-being Index (WHO-5), Problem-focused Styles of Coping Inventory (PF-SOC), and a socio-demographic questionnaire for both sub-samples. Results showed that the overall level of acculturative stress exhibited by international students in this study is similar to other studies conducted in the United States at different times. Homesickness is the most frequently reported stressor whereas fear of being insecure is the least stated stressor. Multiple regression analysis found age, continent of origin, German language proficiency, time spent in Germany and prior travelling experience as the significant predictors of acculturative stress. Contrary to the hypotheses, the present study found that international students have a lower level of academic stress and distress symptoms (including anxiety, depression, and somatization), and a higher level of positive affect as compared to the German students. Overall, about half of the total sample of university students reported to experience moderate to severe levels of anxiety, whereas nearly one quarter of the total sample was found to have moderate to severe levels of depression. A significant low level of positive affect is observed among a slight majority of the total sample. Among both groups of students, demographic variables and coping styles significantly predicted academic stress and psychological well-being.