Abstract
‘Culture shock’ has been identified as a psychological reaction to a change in cultural environment. The main symptoms of culture shock are reported to be psychological disturbance, a negative reaction to the new surroundings and a longing for a more familiar environment. Research has identified culture shock as a component in the difficulties that international students face when studying in another country. One way that institutions of higher education have responded to these difficulties is to provide initial cultural orientation. In the study reported here, a group of post-graduate students who had participated in a study skills and cultural orientation course at a British university were compared with a group who had not. Contrary to the research hypothesis, the group that took part in the orientation course were significantly more homesick and reported more psychological difficulties. The overall findings cast doubt on the received view of culture shock as it affects international students. They suggest that culture shock is exacerbated by personal and social factors and this has implications for the way that international students may be helped through the experience.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anumonye, A. (1970). African Students in Alien Cultures. New York: Black Academy Press.
Barker, M., Child, C., Gallois, C., Jones, E. and Callan, V.J. (1991). ‘Difficulties of overseas students in social and academic situations’, Australian Journal of Psychology 43, 79–84.
Bochner, S. (1982). The social psychology of cross-cultural relations. In S. Bochner (ed) Cultures in Contact: Studies in Cross-cultural Interaction. Oxford: Pergamon.
Bochner, S. and Ohsako, T. (1977). ‘Ethnic role salience in racially homogeneous and heterogeneous societies’, Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology 8, 477–92.
Bock, P. (1970). Culture Shock: A Reader in Modern Anthropology, New York: A.A. Knopf.
British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (1993). Accreditation report. Manchester: BALEAP.
British Council (1989). Code of Practice: Educational institutions and overseas students. London: British Council.
British Council (1990). Studying and Living in Britain 1990. London: British Council.
British Council (1991). Feeling at home. London: British Council.
Church, A.T. (1982). ‘Sojourner Adjustment’, Psychological Bulletin 91, 540–72.
Cochrane, R., Hashmi, F. and Stopes-Roe, M. (1977). ‘Measuring psychological disturbance in Asian immigrants to Britain’, Social Science and Medicine 11, 157–164.
Cochrane, R. and Stopes-Roe, M. (1980). ‘The mental health of immigrants’, New Community 8, 123–8.
Cox, J.L. (1988). ‘The overseas student: Expatriate, sojourner or settler?’, Acta-PsychiatricaScandanavia 78, 179–184.
Department for Education (1993). Students from Abroad in Great Britain 1981 to 1991. London: Government Statistical Service.
Fisher, S. (1989). Homesickness, Cognition and Health. London: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Fisher, S. (1990). Helping the homesick: Attentional management strategy, commitment and adaptation. In S. Fisher and C. L. Cooper (eds.) On the Move: the Psychology of Change and transition. London: Wiley.
Fisher, S., Murray, K. and Frazer, N. (1985). ‘Homesickness and health in first-year students’, Journal of Environmental Psychology 5, 181–195.
Fisher, S. and Hood, B. (1987). ‘The stress of the transition to university: A longitudinal study of psychological disturbance, absent-mindedness and vulnerability to homesickness’, British Journal of Psychology 78, 425–441.
Furnham, A. and Bochner, S. (1982). Social difficulty in a foreign culture: an empirical analysis of culture shock. In S. Bochner (ed.) Cultures in contact: Studies in Cross-cultural interaction. Oxford: Pergamon.
Furnham, A. and Bochner, S. (1986). Culture Shock; psychological reactions to unfamiliar environments. London: Routledge.
Furnham, A. and Sheikh, S. (1993). ‘Gender, generational and social support correlates of mental health in Asian immigrants’, The International Journal of Social Psychiatry 39, 22–33.
Furnham, A. and Trezise, L. (1983). ‘The mental health of foreign students’, Social Science and Medicine 17, 365–370.
Gunn, A. (1970). The Privileged Adolescent. Aylesbury: Medical and Technical Publications.
Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values. California: Sage.
Kinnell, M. (1990). The marketing and managing of courses. In M. Kinnell (ed) The Learning Experiences of Overseas Students. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Klineberg, O. and Hull, W. F. (1979). At a Foreign University: An International Study of Adaptation and Coping. New York: Praeger.
Lago, C. (1990). Working with overseas students. London: British Council and Huddersfield Polytechnic.
Langner, T.S. (1962). ‘A twenty-two item screening score of psychiatric symptoms indicating impairment’, Journal of Health and Social Behaviour 3, 269–276.
Lysgaard, S. (1955). ‘Adjustment in a foreign society: Norwegian Fullbright grantees visiting the United States’, International Social Science Bulletin 7, 45–51.
Makepeace, E. E. (1989). Overseas Students: Challenges of Institutional adjustment. SCED Paper (56) Birmingham: Birmingham Polytechnic.
Oberg, K. (1960). ‘Cultural shock: adjustment to new cultural environments’, Practical Anthropology 7, 177–82.
Pennebaker, J.W., Colder, M. and Sharp, L. K. (1990). ‘Accelerating the coping process’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58, 528–537.
Selby, H. and Woods, C.W. (1966). ‘Foreign students at a High Pressure University’, Sociology of Education 39, 138–154.
Singh, A. K. (1963). Indian Students in Britain. Bombay: Asia Publishing House.
Tajfel, H. and Dawson, J. L. (1965). Disappointed Guests. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
United Kingdom Council for Overseas Student Affairs (1992). Orientation within the Institution. London: UKCOSA.
Willmuth, L., Weaver, L. and Donald, S. (1975). ‘Utilization of medical services by transfered employees’, Archives of General Psychiatry 2, 182–9.
Westwood, M. J. and Barker, M. (1990). ‘Academic achievement and social adaptation among international students: A comparison of groups study of the peer-pairing program’, International Journal of Intercultural Relations 14, 251–263.
Zwingmann, C.A.A. and Gunn, A.D.G. (1983). Uprooting and Health: Psychological problems of students from abroad. Geneva: World Health Organisation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mckinlay, N.J., Pattison, H.M. & Gross, H. An exploratory investigation of the effects of a cultural orientation programme on the psychological well-being of international university students. High Educ 31, 379–395 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00128438
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00128438