Ethnic visibility and preferred acculturation orientations of international students

• We examine the influence of ethnic visibility on preferred acculturation orientations.
• Ethnically visible students score higher on heritage culture orientation.
• Ethnically non-visible students score higher on host culture orientation.
• For ethnically visible, host culture orientation is related to expected discrimination.
• Acculturation orientations were not associated with perceived cultural distance.

The literature on acculturation research is large; however, very few studies distinguish between ethnically visible and non-visible sojourners when examining acculturation orientations. We have limited knowledge of whether ethnic visibility impacts the path of acculturation or whether the acculturation experience is similar for both groups. This paper examines the relationship among ethnic visibility, perceived cultural distance, expected discrimination and preferred acculturation orientations. Data were collected from a survey of 221 international students at a large Australian university. Results revealed a significant effect of ethnic visibility on acculturation orientations. Ethnically visible students score lower on host culture orientation and higher on heritage culture orientation compared to non-visible students. Furthermore, for ethnically visible students, host culture orientation is significantly negatively related to expected discrimination, independent of perceived cultural distance. The findings show that it is discrimination rather than cultural distance that shapes acculturation orientations, particularly for ethnically visible students.