International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, Vol 14(4), 2025, 185-195; doi:10.1027/2157-3891/a000131
Research has shown that acculturative stress and social support are important factors for sociocultural adaptation. To assess whether these phenomena extend to international students, the purpose of the current study was to examine the role of acculturative stress and social support on the sociocultural adaptation of international students who are enrolled in higher education institutions in the United States. The current study further examined the role of students’ ethnic background (European vs. non-European) in the relationship between acculturative stress and sociocultural adaptation. Data was collected using an online Qualtrics survey with participants recruited through social media (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, and X). A total of N = 461 international students (n = 242 males and n = 199 females) completed the survey within the age range of 19–32 years. The participants were nationals of 72 different countries, and they had been in the United States for a range of 1–6 years. The results revealed that acculturative stress and its interaction with social support significantly predicted sociocultural adaptation for non-European students, but not for European students. Specifically, social support mitigated the negative impact of acculturative stress on sociocultural adaptation for non-European students. The findings of our research highlight the fundamental significance of the social context for international students and how it affects their acculturation process. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)