Variation in acculturative stressors over time: A study of Taiwanese students in the United States

With globalization, more people than ever before are engaged in cross-cultural living. The literature suggests that encounter with the unfamiliar is accompanied by a myriad of acculturative stressors which rise and ebb across time. However, few studies have employed a longitudinal design to specify their presence and intensity at various time points. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining acculturative stressors in Taiwanese international students over a 2-year period, using the Migration-Acculturation Stressors Scale. Of the five stressor domains identified by factor analysis (i.e., Homesickness, Cultural Difference, Social Isolation, Academics, and Unfamiliar Climate), Academic challenges posed the greatest difficulty. The stressors appeared most intense early on, and declined significantly either from the Fall to Spring semesters in the first academic year (Academics and Unfamiliar Climate) or from the Spring of the first academic year to the Fall of the second academic year (Homesickness, Cultural Difference, and Social Isolation). Implications of the findings are discussed.