Intercultural development in study abroad: Influence of student and program characteristics

Experimental group members experienced a statistically significant mean increase in IDI DO scores, pre- to post-test, compared to control group members, with small-to-medium effect size. In other words, students became on average modestly more interculturally-minded after a semester abroad. Study abroad participants who were female, identified as members of more than one national culture, or had a grandparent born and raised outside the United States were significantly more likely than others to increase their intercultural-mindedness while studying abroad. Surprisingly, in light of the literature, none of the study abroad program characteristics tested was significantly associated with pre- to post-test IDI mean score change. In sum, personal characteristics outweighed program characteristics.