Annually a lot of international students have left their own countries for the sole purpose of seeking higher education in Universities abroad and with this the population of international students is increasing every time. Moving to another country is a major life transition that can have potentially detrimental effects on people’s mental health (Mallinckrodt & Leong, 1992). Hess (1994) postulated that, in most situations it is very common for people who face an unfamiliar culture that during the process of cultural adjustment, difficulties and problems in communication are usually caused by a change of emotion from cheerful and relaxed to sad and depressed. Being a foreigner, it is normal to experience a variety of strong emotions. These
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If depression, anxiety and feelings of helplessness accumulate, the degree and extent of psychological disorientation may be deeper and deeper so that people may have difficulties in paying attention to the learning of new cultures. According to Oberg (1960), Culture shock is brought on by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse especially when an individual enters a strange and unfamiliar culture. International students encounter loneliness due to loss of contact with their loved ones and families that were left in home country, social loneliness due to loss of network and cultural loneliness due to unfamiliarity of the new environment and culture that affect adequate and social support of the students (Sawir et al 2008.) and this loneliness causes depression. International students can experience a culture shock in the beginning of the adaptation process. Adaptation of international students need changes student’s interpersonal communication and psychological conditions. It may cause psychological problems and tension. Different studies displayed that acculturative stress positively correlated with depression (Snyder, Cervantes and Padilla 1990).Even though it is known that those living in a …show more content…
The characterization of culture shock as inherently negative, however, some scholars view this phenomenon as potentially a positive experience (Anderson, 1994).Moreso, although culture shock may at times be a negative experience of distress, it can also lead to constructive experiences of new learning. The neutral connotation of culture shock used in this study is also discussed by Ward et al, (2001). Three dominant areas of culture shock studies shape the contemporary research on culture shock. The first research approach is strongly advocated by Bochner (2003), who contends that sojourner transition is a learning experience and not a medical problem. Weaver (1994), for example, does not perceive culture shock as an illness or a disease, and consequently, does not hold that this transition is entirely disadvantageous. While acknowledging the stress inherent in the adjustment for international students, the researcher also highlights the opportunities for personal growth and discovery that culture shock creates Although sojourner transition can be stressful in varying degree, the negative effects of the experience can be reversed with proactive learning about the new culture in the new country like absorbing new knowledge, gaining some exotic experience, contributes to new identification towards oneself and other
If depression, anxiety and feelings of helplessness accumulate, the degree and extent of psychological disorientation may be deeper and deeper so that people may have difficulties in paying attention to the learning of new cultures. According to Oberg (1960), Culture shock is brought on by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse especially when an individual enters a strange and unfamiliar culture. International students encounter loneliness due to loss of contact with their loved ones and families that were left in home country, social loneliness due to loss of network and cultural loneliness due to unfamiliarity of the new environment and culture that affect adequate and social support of the students (Sawir et al 2008.) and this loneliness causes depression. International students can experience a culture shock in the beginning of the adaptation process. Adaptation of international students need changes student’s interpersonal communication and psychological conditions. It may cause psychological problems and tension. Different studies displayed that acculturative stress positively correlated with depression (Snyder, Cervantes and Padilla 1990).Even though it is known that those living in a …show more content…
The characterization of culture shock as inherently negative, however, some scholars view this phenomenon as potentially a positive experience (Anderson, 1994).Moreso, although culture shock may at times be a negative experience of distress, it can also lead to constructive experiences of new learning. The neutral connotation of culture shock used in this study is also discussed by Ward et al, (2001). Three dominant areas of culture shock studies shape the contemporary research on culture shock. The first research approach is strongly advocated by Bochner (2003), who contends that sojourner transition is a learning experience and not a medical problem. Weaver (1994), for example, does not perceive culture shock as an illness or a disease, and consequently, does not hold that this transition is entirely disadvantageous. While acknowledging the stress inherent in the adjustment for international students, the researcher also highlights the opportunities for personal growth and discovery that culture shock creates Although sojourner transition can be stressful in varying degree, the negative effects of the experience can be reversed with proactive learning about the new culture in the new country like absorbing new knowledge, gaining some exotic experience, contributes to new identification towards oneself and other