Chinese International Students’ Stressors and Coping Strategies in the United States PDF
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Education in the Asia-Pacifi c Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects 37 Kun Yan Chinese International Students’ Stressors and Coping Strategies in the United States EDUCATION IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION: ISSUES, CONCERNS AND PROSPECTS Volume37 SeriesEditors-in-Chief Professor Rupert Maclean, Office of Applied Research and Innovation, College of the North Atlantic-Qatar DrLorrainePeSymaco,CentreforResearchinInternationalandComparativeEducation(CRICE), UniversityofMalaya,KualaLumpur,Malaysia EditorialBoard ProfessorBobAdamson,TheHongKongInstituteofEducation,China DrRobynBaker,NewZealandCouncilforEducationalResearch,Wellington,NewZealand ProfessorMichaelCrossley,UniversityofBristol,UnitedKingdom MsShantiJagannathan,AsianDevelopmentBank,Manila,Philippines DrYutoKitamura,UniversityofTokyo,Japan ProfessorColinPower,GraduateSchoolofEducation,UniversityofQueensland,Brisbane,Australia ProfessorKonaiHeluThaman,UniversityoftheSouthPacific,Suva,Fiji AdvisoryBoard ProfessorMarkBray,UNESCOChair,ComparativeEducationResearchCentre,TheUniversityof Hong Kong, China; Professor Yin Cheong Cheng, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, China; ProfessorJohnFien,SwinburneUniversity,Melbourne,Australia;DrPhamLanHuong,International EducationalResearchCentre,HoChiMinhCity,Vietnam;DrChong-JaeLee,KoreanEducational DevelopmentInstitute(KEDI),Seoul,RepublicofKorea;MsNaingYeeMar,GIZ,Yangon,Myanmar; Professor Geoff Masters, Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne, Australia; Margarita Pavlova, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, China; Dr Max Walsh, Secondary Education Project, Manila, Philippines; Dr Uchita de Zoysa, Global Sustainability Solutions (GLOSS),Colombo,SriLanka More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/5888 Kun Yan Chinese International ’ Students Stressors and Coping Strategies in the United States KunYan TsinghuaUniversity Beijing,China ISSN1573-5397 ISSN2214-9791 (electronic) EducationintheAsia-PacificRegion:Issues,ConcernsandProspects ISBN978-981-10-3345-2 ISBN978-981-10-3347-6 (eBook) DOI10.1007/978-981-10-3347-6 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016963681 ©SpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd.2017 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthis book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained hereinor for anyerrors oromissionsthat may havebeenmade. Thepublisher remainsneutralwith regardtojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. Printedonacid-freepaper ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore ’ Series Editors Introduction This book by Kun Yan, Chinese International Students’ Stressors and Coping Strategies in the United States, is the latest volume to be published in the long- standing Springer book series “Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects.” The first book in this Springer series was published in 2002,withthisvolumebyKunYanbeingthe37thvolumepublishedtodate. The movement of large numbers of youth between countries to pursue higher education ambitions, by attending overseas universities, has become an important featureofglobalizationandthemasstransferofpeoplebetweencountries.Infact, those countries that receive large numbers of foreign students not only earn valuable foreign exchange through their involvement with this activity but also havethepotentialtoincreasetheirsphereofinfluenceintheworldwhenstudents returntotheirhomecountries. Thismassmovementofstudentsbetweencountrieswhoareseekingtoexpand their education opportunities through knowledge, skills, and overseas experience often results instressesand strainsfor the students involved, asthey seek tocope withandadjusttothesocialandculturalcharacteristicsoftheirhostcountry,which oftenmaybeverydifferenttotheircountryoforigin. ThisinterestingandimportantbookbyKunYanshedslightonthemainareasof stress experienced by Chinese students in the United States and investigates how thesestudentsdevelopandutilizecopingmechanismsandstrategiestomanagethat stress. In addition to providing cutting-edge information on the student stress and coping mechanisms for dealing with this, this volume provides very useful and doablesuggestionsastowhatAmericanuniversitiescandotoeasethetransitionof studentandhelpthemdevelopcopingmechanismstodealwiththeirnew,foreign environment.ThestudyalsoprovidesinsightswhichwillhelpChineseuniversities bestpreparetheirstudentstostudyoverseas. Thefindingsreporteduponinthisbookarebasedonoriginalmaterialcollected through both quantitative (questionnaires) and qualitative (interviews) means. In addition,theresultsreporteduponhereshouldalsobeusefulinbetterunderstand- ing,andgaininginsightsabout,thephenomenastudiednotjustforChinesestudents v vi SeriesEditors’Introduction inAmericanuniversities,andChinesestudentsingeneral,butalsoothernational- itiesstudyingoutsidetheirhomecountry. This volume will be an essential guide for anyone with an interest in better understandingthesituationregardingChinesestudentsstudyinginAmerica. ThevarioustopicsincludedinthisSpringerbookseriesoneducationintheAsia- Pacific region are wide ranging and varied in coverage, with an emphasis on cutting-edgedevelopments,bestpractices,andeducationinnovationsfordevelop- ment.Topicsexaminedincludeenvironmentaleducationandeducationforsustain- able development; the reform of primary, secondary, and teacher education; innovativeapproachestoeducationassessment;alternativeeducation;mosteffec- tive ways to achieve quality and highly relevant education for all; active aging throughactivelearning;casestudiesofeducationandschoolingsystemsinvarious countries in the region; cross-country and cross-cultural studies of education and schooling;andthesociologyofteachersasanoccupationalgroup,tomentionjusta few. For full details about books published to date in this series, examine the Springerwebsitehttp://www.springer.com/series/5888. All volumes in this book series aim to meet the interests and priorities of a diverseeducationaudienceincludingresearchers,policymakers,andpractitioners, tertiary students, teachers at all levels within education systems, and members of thepublicwhoareinterestedinbetterunderstandingcutting-edgedevelopmentsin educationandschoolinginAsia-Pacific. The reason why this book series has been devoted exclusively to examining variousaspectsofeducationandschoolingintheAsia-Pacificregionisthatthisisa challenging region which is renowned for its size, diversity, and complexity, whether it be geographical, socio-economic, cultural, political, or developmental. Educationandschoolingincountriesthroughouttheregionimpactoneveryaspect ofpeople’slives,includingemployment,laborforceconsiderations,educationand training,culturalorientation,andattitudesandvalues.Asia-Pacificishometosome 63%oftheworld’spopulationof7billion.Countrieswiththelargestpopulations (China,1.4billion;India,1.3billion)andthemostrapidlygrowingmegacitiesare tobefoundintheregion,asarecountrieswithrelativelysmallpopulations(Bhutan, 755,000;theislandofNiue,1600). Levels of economic and sociopolitical development vary widely, with some of the richest countries (such as Japan) and some of the poorest countries on earth (suchasBangladesh).Asiacontainsthelargestnumberofpoorofanyregioninthe world, the incidence of those living below the poverty line remaining as high as 40percentinsomecountriesinAsia.Atthesametime,manycountriesinAsiaare experiencingaperiodofgreateconomicgrowthandsocialdevelopment.However, inclusive growth remains elusive, as does growth that is sustainable and does not destroy the quality of the environment. The growing prominence of Asian econo- miesandcorporations,togetherwithglobalizationandtechnologicalinnovation,is leadingtolong-termchangesintrade,business,andlabormarkets,tothesociology of populations within (and between) countries. There is a rebalancing of power, centered on the Asia-Pacific region, with the Asian Development Bank in Manila declaringthatthetwenty-firstcenturywillbe“theCenturyofAsiaPacific.” SeriesEditors’Introduction vii Weknowthatthisbookseriesmakesausefulcontributiontoknowledgesharing abouteducationandschoolinginAsia-Pacific.Anyreadersofthisorothervolumes intheserieswhohaveanideaforwritingtheirownbook(oreditingabook)onany aspect of education and/or schooling that is relevant to the region are enthusiasti- callyencouragedtoapproachtheserieseditorseitherdirectlyorthroughSpringerto publish their own volume in the series, since we are always willing to assist prospective authors shape their manuscripts in ways that make them suitable for publicationinthisseries. Doha,Qatar RupertMaclean KualaLumpur,Malaysia LorraineSymaco October2016 Preface This study examines the sources of stress among Chinese students in the United States. It also investigates how they utilize coping strategies and resources to managetheirstress. Asurvey was conducted toobtaininformationabout the stress sources, coping strategies,andhelp-seekingbeliefsofcontemporarymainlandChinesestudentsin America. A follow-up interview study was conducted to provide additional evi- denceoftheseissues.FindingsarediscussedandanalyzedinthecontextofBerry’s conceptualframeworkofstressandcopingforacculturation. ThisstudyrevealsthatthelifeofChinesestudentsintheUnitedStatesisnoteasy and they have to endure multifaceted life stresses. Job opportunities, immigration issues,andacademicpressurerankthehighestamongthestressors.Individualvari- ablessuchasgender,collegemajor,age,maritalstatus,lengthofstay,andaccultur- ationstrategiesshowsignificantinfluencesonstresslevelsamongstudents. ItisalsofoundthatChinesestudentsengageinawiderangeofcopingstrategies toalleviatetheirstress.Whenseekinghelpfromothers,theyprimarilyturntotheir family or other Chinese students. Most of them did not know how the counseling services work or have had a hard time telling counselors about their personal problems. Students identify a lack of common language and understanding of mental health concepts, as well as fear of stigmatization, as limiting their expres- sionofpsychologicalneedsandstress. Based on the findings of this study, suggestions are made to both American universitycommunitiesandChineseinternationalstudents,regardingwhatmustbe done to enhance Chinese students’ cross-cultural experiences in America. The results of this study can help Chinese students already in the United States and those who plan to come andadapt tothe American educational environment. The results may also inform policymakers, administrators, and educators in American universities, helping them to improve the services and programs for their foreign students. Beijing,China KunYan ix Contents 1 Introduction:StatementoftheProblem.......................... 1 Objectives...................................................... 2 EducationalImportanceofThisStudy............................. 2 Definitions...................................................... 4 2 ChineseInternationalStudentsintheUnitedStates:Demographic Trends,Motivations,andAcculturationFeatures................. 7 TheHistoryandDemographicsofChineseInternationalStudents..... 7 ChineseInternationalStudentsintheUnitedStates:1890–1950. . .. 7 ChineseInternationalStudentsintheUnitedStates:After1978. . . . 8 ChineseStudents’MotivationtoStudyAbroad..................... 13 ChineseStudents’Group-LevelAcculturationFeaturesinAmerica. . . 15 CultureandEthnicRelationsinAmerica......................... 15 ChineseStudents’Group-LevelAcculturationFeatures............ 16 3 ChineseInternationalStudentsintheUnitedStates:Adjustment ProblemsandCopingBehaviors................................. 19 ChineseStudents’AdjustmentIssues.............................. 19 AcademicChallenges.......................................... 21 SocioculturalProblems........................................ 23 CopingandHelp-SeekingBehaviors............................... 25 BarriertoPursuingCounseling................................. 25 CopingResourceandSocialSupport............................ 26 Berry’sStress-CopingFramework................................. 28 FactorsinBerry’sModel....................................... 29 Summary....................................................... 31 4 Methodology:MethodologyJustification......................... 33 DataSourcesandCollectionProcedures........................... 34 QuantitativeDataCollection................................... 34 QualitativeDataCollection..................................... 36 xi
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